Biosafety Practices and Emergency Response at the Idaho National Laboratory and and Los Alamos National Laboratory

摘要

Strict federal regulations govern the possession, use, and transfer of pathogens and toxins with potential to cause harm to the public, either through accidental or deliberate means. Laboratories registered through either the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA), or both, must prepare biosafety, security, and incident response plans, conduct drills or exercises on an annual basis, and update plans accordingly. At the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), biosafety, laboratory, and emergency management staff have been working together for 2 years to satisfy federal and DOE/NNSA requirements. This has been done through the establishment of plans, training, tabletop and walk-through exercises and drills, and coordination with local and regional emergency response personnel. Responding to the release of infectious agents or toxins is challenging, but through familiarization with the nature of the hazardous biological substances or organisms, and integration with laboratory-wide emergency response procedures, credible scenarios are being used to evaluate our ability to protect workers, the public, and the environment from agents we must work with to provide for national biodefense.