New Page 1

About ACC Safety Protocols (get forms here)

If an ACC Safety Protocol has been required by the Animal Care Committee (ACC) for hazards in your ACC protocol, it will have to be completed before your ACC protocol is approved. You will be notified by the ACC if an ACC Safety Protocol is required. You may also be notified that due to the rDNA work in your ACC protocol, an Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) Registration is required for compliance to the NIH rDNA Guidelines.
ACC Safety Protocols are distinct from IBC Registrations:
- They serve separate regulatory functions and cover different safety/compliance considerations.
- You may be required to complete either or both processes.
There are two kinds of ACC Safety Protocols:
- ACC Safety Protocols for Hazardous Chemicals and chemicals whose toxicology is unknown, that are used with animals, are written with this form. Housing for these animals is typically in Center for Lab Animal Care (CLAC) chemical isolation.
- Those for Hazardous Biological materials that are used with animals are written with this form. Housing for these animals is typically in CLAC biocontainment.
- When experiments combine both chemical and biological hazards, hybrid ACC Safety Protocols, or one of each may be written to cover the hazards. Housing will be picked during the writing process to be appropriate for the timing and the hazards. Contact the Biological Safety Officer (BSO) for consultation about this.
ACC Safety Protocols result from a negotiation between the Principal Investigator (PI), the CLAC Director and/or the BSO about the best facilities and procedures to use to protect animals and humans during the experiment. Once all are in documented agreement, the ACC Safety Protocol is considered approved and fulfilling the requirement for ACC Protocol approval. At that point the protocol is distributed to CLAC, to the ACC, to the Employee Health Service (EHS), and to InfoEd in the ACC module. The version posted on InfoEd is the agreed-upon, working version and must be followed. It may be changed if it is discovered that something about it doesn't work, however, this involves re-entry into negotiations between the PI, CLAC and the BSO, and posting on InfoEd, so that everyone involved stays informed.