The purpose of this Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) policy is to define containment level for rooms shared by multiple research groups who conduct activities under different biosafety levels (e.g. shared laboratories, animal procedure/housing rooms, equipment corridors).
This policy applies to all University of Wisconsin–Madison Principle Investigators (PI’s) who conduct activities under Biosafety Level (BSL)-1 containment and have been assigned to work in a multi-room laboratory or animal suite where work is conducted by others under BSL-2 containment [i.e., UW–Madison, Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research (WIMR) facility].
The IBC requires that all researchers who utilize multi-user laboratories or animal procedure/housing rooms comply with the highest biosafety containment level for work in the shared space. For example, where both BSL1/Animal Biosafety Level (ABSL)1 and BSL2/ABSL2 activities are performed, researchers must comply with BSL2 or ABSL2 PPE (during BSL2/ABSL2 activities) and provide hazard communication.
All workers within the multiuser space must be informed of the risks associated with the infectious agents or hazardous materials that are used in the space. It is expected that the Principal Investigators who are assigned to a multi-user laboratory or animal procedure/housing room will work together co-operatively to ensure the safety of all workers, including custodial and animal care staff.
For multi-user laboratories, signage indicating the biosafety level is posted on the exterior doors of the laboratory. For animal vivarium suites, ABSL2 signage is posted on the specific procedure/housing rooms of the suite.
The IBC requires that all researchers who utilize multi-user laboratories or animal procedure/housing rooms abide by the following:
11-04-2020
