Introduction

This edition of the Stanford University Biosafety Manual was prepared under the auspices of the Administrative Panel on Biosafety (APB) by the Office of Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) after careful review of pertinent federal and state government regulatory documents, along with reference guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health.

This manual will:

• Discuss components of creating and working in a research laboratory with a robust safety culture, and understanding of risk
• Address the most commonly asked questions from faculty, staff and students on general Biosafety, pathogens, and recombinant DNA (rDNA) or synthetic nucleic acid (sNA) issues;
• Provide information about training, safe work practices, safety equipment and personal protective equipment; and
• Provide guidance for investigators who need to submit an application for review by the Administrative Panel on Biosafety.

Due to the ever-changing regulatory environment that we all live and work in, updates to this manual will be made as needed; these changes will also be made on the EH&S Biosafety web site (https://ehs.stanford.edu/topic/biosafety-biosecurity).

Please feel free to comment on this manual. If you have questions regarding this manual, please contact the Biosafety & Biosecurity Program at (650) 725-1473 or email biosafety-owner@lists.stanford.edu.

Sincerely,

Russell Furr,
Director of Research Safety and Deputy Director, Environmental Health & Safety

Ellyn Segal, Ph.D.,
Assistant Director, Biosafety & Biosecurity Manager, Environmental Health & Safety

Mark Holodniy, M.D.
Professor of Medicine, Chair, Administrative Panel on Biosafety