The Hazardous Waste office provides biohazard waste boxes and the red plastic liners for these boxes. Visit their site for who to contact.

No. Labs may purchase these from any lab supply company.

The Hazardous Waste office within EHS picks up biohazardous waste. See more details here.

There are several reasons why this practice is prohibited:

• The flame itself creates turbulence within the BSC which will disrupt the airflow inside the unit causing convection rather than intended laminar air flow patterns.  Laminar air patterns maintain both a clean work environment and protect your health from what you’re working with.
• Cabinets are not designed for high heat; heat that can disrupt electrical equipment within the unit itself and grossly damage the HEPA filter leading to a loss of containment.
• Most BSCs recirculate a percentage of air, so were the flame to go out, flammable gas would collect within the cabinet and reach explosive concentrations.

This policy is in accordance with recommendations from numerous agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), and major biosafety cabinet manufacturers themselves.

Follow the standard operating procedure poster posted nearby the autoclave.  Here's what to do:

1. Call Getinge (1-800-660-1687) to report the problem and provide them the serial number of the autoclave and/or boiler.
2. Email the Biosafety Office (biosafety@ehs.gatech.edu) indicating: the unit location, the problem, when you notified Getinge and if they have returned your call.
3. Post the Out of Service sign nearby indicating when you called Getinge to prevent the continued use of a broken autoclave.

All biosafety cabinets, laminar flow hoods, and clean benches must be re-certified on an annual basis, as well as after they are repaired and after they are moved to a new location.  This service is offered through a Biosafety Office managed vendor and can be coordinated through Biosafety.

Contact us to schedule a time for the technician to come to campus and service your unit.  The email should include:

• The unit’s manufacturer, model number, and serial number
• The building and room number
• Why the unit needs to be decontaminated.

Note that the unit will likely require re-certification depending on what is done to the unit after decontamination, something that also needs to be coordinated through the Biosafety Office.

This information can be found in detail on the Biological Shipments page.  To summarize, on the day of shipment, bring the following to EHS:

• Material in a secure and sealed inner container, which should be secured in secondary containment (a ziplock bag is sufficient for small quantities)
• Dry Ice, if applicable
• Safety information, such as an SDS or MSDS, if applicable
• All completed paperwork

Yes, you really do need to schedule an appointment.  Showing up unexpected or trying to coordinate a shipment drop-off the day-of your desired shipment will likely result in disappointment.  All members of the Biosafety Office may be busy or out of the office when you show up to ship without an appointment.  To ensure that someone is available to receive your samples and has reserved time to ship your package, please be sure to schedule an appointment using the Shipping Appointment webform.

The Office of Research Integrity Assurance conducts export control review.

This determination will be made by the Office of Industry Engagement after they review your paperwork for MTA initiation (i.e., Incoming Material Transfer Initiation Form, Outgoing Material Transfer Initiation Form). They will let you and Biosafety know whether your sample needs an MTA and when an MTA is approved.

Concentra is located at 688 Spring Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30308.  Physically, it’s located across the interstate, just south of Tech Square and directly north of the Varsity.  If you take the underground tunnel to cross the highway, Concentra will be on your immediate right upon exiting the tunnel and on Spring Street. Their phone number is 404-881-1155.

Visit Concentra with the medical recommendations provided to you by the Biosafety Office. They can provide all recommended vaccines or tests that you consent to.

Biosafety will contact you with required trainings and recommended medical monitoring. If it's been an extended period of time since you initially registered, email us with your full name and the PI/professor you registered under and we will let you know if you are indeed registered.

There are a few options:

• Complete the form electronically and email it to us
• Drop the form off in person to the receptionist in the IBB front office
• Drop the form off in person to the receptionist at the EHS main office on the 2nd floor

More information may be found on the BOHP page.

Anyone working with animals or biological materials. See more information here.

Go to Section III of the NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules to determine what category your work falls under. If you need assistance, contact the Biosafety Officer.

Check out our biosafety protocol submission page to learn more about each of these approval processes.

No, they are different courses offered by different offices within EHS. Lab Safety 101 covers general lab safety topics, while General Biosafety covers the principles and practices of biosafety and how those are applied at Georgia Tech.

Email us to register for an upcoming classroom session. You will not be able to log in to www.trains.gatech.edu to register. 

Email us with:

• Your full name
• Which course you need a certificate for
• What date the course was taken

We will email you a copy of your certificate. We can only provide records for biosafety trainings. If you need a certificate from another group in EHS, contact someone in that group.

Log in to www.trains.gatech.edu and view your own personal transcript. It should have all previously attended courses listed and the dates that they were completed.

CINTAS currently provides this service for campus. You can reach them at 617-838-1208 or via email KiddM@cintas.com for more information, or explore their website.

The trainings that are required vary based on what materials you're working with, and all courses require a refresher periodically. See the Biosafety Training page for more details.

Most likely not. We do not do lead abatement projects very often, because we currently have very few spaces that are considered to be "child-occupied facilities" that are in danger of having lead paint.

We do require that contractors use lead-safe best work practices for every renovation or demolition project.

Yes, unless we have survey data of the space already. Usually we can figure out if a survey is needed with a quick site visit and check of our records.

The LSO calculates the optical density needed for protection against the wavelengths in use in your lab.  There are occasions where multiple optical densities are needed for a given wavelength.  For instance, an optical density of 4 might be needed for protection against an accidental exposure to a direct beam.  For the same wavelength, another pair of eyewear with optical density of only 2 would be sufficient for alignment purposes only.  Be sure to communicate with the LSO.

The material to be used depends on the laser class and a variety of other factors. The LSO will determine the most appropriate barrier type as part of a laser hazard assessment. Generally, Class 4 lasers and some higher-powered Class 3B lasers will require the use of "laser rated" barrier material that has been tested to withstand up to a certain laser intensity and has been tested to be flame retardant.

• Complete the initial online laser safety training (instructions here).
• Complete Form LU-1 (Laser User Registration) and sign as the Laser User by typing your name in the indicated field.
• Submit the form.

You must be a full-time Georgia Tech faculty or staff member.

• Complete the initial online laser safety training (instructions here).
• Complete Form LS-1 (Laser Supervisor Registration) and provide your signature as the Laser Supervisor either
  • via DocuSign or
  • by signing the hard copy
• Email the signed form to the Laser Safety Officer.

Laser Safety Training must be completed prior to your first use of a Class 3B or Class 4 laser. Refresher training is then required every 2 years.

Email the Office of Radiological Safety. Common reasons include not having completed a Form B for that x-ray machine or not having completed the X-Ray Refresher Training, required every 2 years.

Yes. Notify the Office of Radiological Safety that you would like to surplus your x-ray machine. ORS will remove the x-ray tube (if applicable), and provide a letter indicating to GT Logistics that it is acceptable to surplus.

The certificate will be sent to your Authorized User (or if IEN, Charlie Turgeon) within 1 month of your training. If your Authorized User doesn't have it, email ORS to request it.

Contact the Office of Radiological Safety and indicate which posting needs to be replaced. ORS will provide a new posting.

There are a variety of uranium and thorium compounds (most commonly acetates and nitrates) that can be purchased from a vendor without showing proof of a radioactive material license. Uranyl acetate is one of the compounds. These compounds typically fall under what Georgia regulations define as a General License.

This document describes the minor requirements of the Georgia Tech radiation safety program for these types of compounds. Requirements regarding collection of waste as well as transportation or shipment of the source must be followed.

Contact the Office of Radiological Safety so that a contamination survey of the equipment can be completed before it is moved.