Biohazards are infectious agents or hazardous biological materials that present a risk or potential risk to the health of humans, animals or the environment. The risk can be direct through infection or indirect through damage to the environment. Biohazard materials include certain types of recombinant DNA; organisms and viruses infectious to humans, animals or plants (e.g. parasites, viruses, bacteria, fungi, prions, rickettsia); and biologically active agents (i.e. toxins, allergens, venom) that may cause disease in other living organisms or cause significant impact to the environment or community. Biological materials you may not consider to be biohazard may be regulated by regulations and guidelines as biohazard materials.
If you conduct research involving biohazard material, you will be required to submit a Biohazard Use Authorization (BUA) form to the campus Biosafety Committee for approval before starting your research. This is to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations and safety measures are in place to protect the researchers, public, and environment. Contact EHS for more information.
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