§ 627.10 - Personnel prerequisites.

(a) Medical. Before to assignment to work with etiologic agents, personnel will be evaluated by the appropriate medical personnel with respect to their assignment and will be evaluated in the medical surveillance program described in § 627.8.

(b) Training. All personnel directly or indirectly involved with containment or handling of known and potentially biohazardous material shall receive instruction that adequately prepares them for their assigned duties. Training will be given by occupationally qualified personnel as determined by the commander. This training will be documented and will include—

(1) General training—

(i) Personal hygiene related to laboratory work.

(ii) Laboratory practices.

(iii) Personal protective equipment.

(iv) Effective use of engineering controls.

(v) Packaging, transportation, and shipment of etiologic agents (when applicable).

(vi) Hazardous and infectious waste disposal, handling, and minimization procedures.

(2) Training conducted specifically for the facilities that the individual will be working in, including—

(i) Procedures for the facility.

(ii) Reporting incidents and accidents.

(iii) Labeling and posting of signs.

(iv) Biohazardous waste handling, approaches to minimizing the volume of waste, decontamination, packaging, and disposal.

(v) Emergency procedures.

(3) Additional general training required for work in facilities where viable etiologic agents are present.

(i) Aseptic technique and procedures to include hands-on instruction and demonstration of proficiency.

(ii) Concept and definition of biosafety levels.

(iii) Disinfection and sterilization.

(iv) Safe use of workplace equipment, for example autoclave and centrifuge.

(v) Monitoring and auditing requirements.

(vi) Precautions for handling blood, tissues, and body fluids (when applicable).

(vii) The infectivity, pathogenicity, mode(s) of transmission, and medical surveillance requirements of specific agents.

(viii) Training for all new employees will include a period of supervised orientation in the facilities by a scientist or technician with specific training in the procedures and properties of the etiologic agents in use. During the training period, new laboratory personnel will be under the constant supervision of appropriately trained personnel.

(ix) Personnel who are assigned tasks in BL-2, BL-3, or BL-4 facilities will also have specific training in handling pathogens.

(x) Personnel assigned duties in a BL-4 facility will also have specific and thorough training in handling extremely hazardous infectious agents, the primary and secondary containment functions of standard and special practices, use of personal protective equipment, containment equipment, and laboratory design characteristics.

(4) Additional general training for handling toxins will include relevant items from § 627.10 plus—

(i) The availability of reference material on the hazards and safe handling of toxic substances.

(ii) The biological effects of the toxin(s) in use.