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Biohazardous Material Use Authorization

Effective: Moved to Policy Library from UPM 12.12(3)
Updated/Revised: June 18, 2008
Contact: Office for Responsible Research

Introduction

Biohazardous materials are materials of biological origin that could potentially cause harm to humans, domestic or wild animals, or plants. Examples include recombinant DNA; transgenic animals or plants; human, animal or plant pathogens; biological toxins (such as tetanus toxin); human blood and certain human body fluids; and human or primate cell cultures.

The Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) has responsibility for reviewing the biological and public health safety programs at Iowa State University and sets policies that comply with federal, state, and local regulations. The IBC members are appointed by the Vice President for Research and Economic Development and the President.

The IBC reviews research projects to ensure compliance with National Institute of Health (NIH) and Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories guidelines. An institution receiving NIH funding for any of its recombinant DNA projects must follow NIH Guidelines in all of its recombinant DNA research projects.

Policy Statement

The Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) must approve and issue a biohazardous materials use authorization for any teaching or research project that involves:

  • Use of recombinant DNA, including transgenic animals or plants
  • Use of human, animal, or plant pathogens not indigenous to Iowa (for example, bacteria, viruses, prions, parasites)
  • Use of biological toxins; administration of experimental biological products to animals
  • Field releases of plant pests (not indigenous to Iowa) or genetically modified organisms

Resources

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