The WVU Biosafety Office with the University’s Environmental Health and Safety Department, in conjunction with the Association for Biosafety and Biosecurity, has announced October as ABSA International Biosafety and Biosecurity Month.
This year aims to return to the core components of ethical research, transparency, training, engagement and stewardship of biosafety and biosecurity with a focus on stewardship and engagement, fostering positive relationships with the research community, and supporting responsible and ethical research through our profession.
Throughout the month, the Biosafety Office will share information with the research community on biological culture and sample storage in labs, and challenge all labs to review its inventory of cold storage equipment for unneeded, unwanted, orphaned and abandoned or old/expired biohazards.
Items to consider include: plasmids, viral vectors, pathogenic microorganisms, biological toxins, or human-derived materials such as blood, body fluids, tissue or cell lines. A flyer will be shared through your chief health officer detailing what biohazards to look for as well as what to do once you identify them.
Researchers are encouraged to discard anything they no longer need as biohazard waste.
Faculty and staff are invited to join the biosafety team for activities, prizes and more information from 1-3 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12, on the first floor commons area of the Health Sciences Center.
Find more information on campus biosafety.
For questions, contact BioSafety@WVUHSC.onmicrosoft.com.