All authorized personnel (faculty, staff and students) in laboratories where biohazardous materials are handled (Containment Level's 1-3) must have both general and laboratory specific biosafety training. In addition, any work involving animals at Memorial must have prior Animal Care Services approval:

http://www.mun.ca/research/about/acs/

General Biosafety Training – All authorized personnel in laboratories utilizing biohazardous materials must complete general biosafety training prior to commencement of work. This training covers introductory biosafety topics such as biosafety legislation in Canada, Memorial’s biosafety program and BSOP’s, PPE, biosafety laboratory equipment and other relevant biosafety material. Memorial’s biosafety course is available online via Desire2Learn.

Register HERE for D2L Biosafety. Please note that you should have access to the course immediately after registration. If not, please contact CITL technical support directly.

Biosafety training must be renewed every five (5) years. Proof of training, acknowledging successful completion of Memorial’s biosafety training course must be retained with in-lab biosafety records and documented on the individuals Biosafety Training Log.

Laboratory Specific Biosafety Training – Authorized workers in biohazard laboratories must receive laboratory-specific training on various aspects of the laboratory they work in. This training must be provided by the biosafety certificate holder or designated individual and must include identification of the hazards associated with mechanical (equipment) and operational (laboratory protocols) features of the work undertaken (including symptoms of disease caused by the infectious materials and the necessary precautions to prevent exposure). Laboratory-specific training must also include the correct operation of laboratory equipment and the design and operation of the containment zone and associated containment systems.

In additional, an annual review of emergency response procedures is required for all authorized workers (see below). Trainees must be accompanied by authorized workers until they complete all training requirements. All in-house biosafety training, whether mechanical or operational, must be documented in the Biosafety Training Log.

Annual Emergency Response Refresher – Annually, biosafety certificate holders (or designates) must provide refresher training on the applicable emergency response procedures at Memorial to each authorized biohazard worker under their supervision. This should include (but is not limited to) a review of biohazard spill response; incident reporting requirements and procedures; locations of safety showers, eyewash, spill kits; emergency contact numbers, etc. Refresher training must be documented in the Biosafety Training Log and made available for inspection.

All training must be documented and made available for inspection. Proof of D2L biosafety training (e.g. grades) and Biosafety Training Logs (one per authorized biosafety worker) must be maintained in a laboratory biosafety records binder and made available for inspection at all times.