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Biological Safety Hazards

  • The university project manager shall coordinate with the departmental principal investigator and lab manager to ensure that no active manipulation of biohazardous materials will occur during the course of contractor access.
  • If work will be conducted on the roof systems of a building where biological research occurs, the university project manager shall coordinate access with the Division of Campus Planning, Infrastructure, and Facilities, the departments, and/or facility managers within the building, and Environmental Health & Safety as necessary to ensure that:
    • No experiments are in progress that would generate toxic or infectious airborne contaminants and that all biohazardous materials are contained while the contractor will be performing work on these systems; 
    • Contractor is informed of any special precautions that must be taken to prevent employee exposure to biohazards; 
    • Contractor is informed of emergency procedures that the contractor is to follow in the event of accidental exposures during the course of the work; and 
    • Contractor is provided a copy of Virginia Tech’s roof access procedure upon request, which outlines the precautions that should be taken to protect its employees while conducting such work. This information may be obtained by contacting Environmental Health & Safety at 540-231-3427.