Past EBSA courses

his workshop is intended to provide a basic course on auditing management systems and monitoring safety performance in connection with activities involving biohazards. In addition to setting out the general framework for the audit process, and contrasting this with safety inspections, a number of scenarios will be presented to illustrate some of the difficulties which may be encountered, along with approaches to circumvent these. Points to consider when planning and conducting an audit will be presented together with useful hints based on the auditing experience of the tutors. Based on a case study, audit preparation and strategy as well as communication will be practiced in group work and role playing.

This workshop has been designed for biosafety professionals and facility managers who have at least a basic knowledge of biological safety regulations and some experience in running a BSL2 facility. This course will center on practical experience in the management of a BSL3 facility. It will cover subjects like responsibilities, information and training, personnel protection equipment, health surveillance, work practices, disinfection, waste management, cleaning and maintenance, facility maintenance, security and emergency procedures. Exchange of experiences between participants and instructors is an essential part of the course and will be encouraged through some exercises and case studies.

This interactive workshop will present the principles of biorisk management, identify the multiple components of biosafety programmes and explore ways to integrate them into the management system(s) in place or to be developed in an institution. Some specific issues like the consideration of biosecurity aspects as part of biosafety management will be developed. The seminar will also provide an introduction to ISO and OHSAS management systems and will present the new biorisk management standard. It will be illustrated with a few exercises.

Disinfection using chemical agents is widely used in laboratories handling pathogenic agents. Recently, concerns over bioterrorism and nosocomial infection have increased interest in decontamination outside the microbiology laboratory. This workshop will introduce the concepts behind disinfection, decontamination, and sterilization, critically describe the commonly used liquid disinfectants and introduce disinfectant efficacy testing. The legislative framework in the EU for both liquid and gaseous disinfection will be discussed by a UK regulator. The available gaseous disinfection methods (formaldehyde, H 2 O 2 , Chlorine Dioxide) will be critically described and the practical issues of use of gaseous disinfectants in the laboratory environment and other areas including exposure control, validation, filter disinfection and efficacy testing will be discussed. Time will be allocated to allow questions from the audience to be discussed and hopefully answered. Attendance on this workshop should allow attendees to keep up to date with recent developments in this area.

The workshop will start by introducing the principles and methods underlying risk assessment for activities involving hazardous biological materials. This will be followed by an interactive session involving participants, and then by a more focused consideration of risk assessment involving work with different biological agents including genetically modified micro-organisms (GMM) and with a variety of biological materials where there is known, suspect or possible contamination with infectious agents. Special considerations when working with laboratory animals will also be covered. The second part of the programme will use a case study approach, where participants will work in smaller groups to develop and understand the process of risk assessment as it relates to biosafety. At the end of the workshop, participants will share their learning in a concluding plenary session.

The management and organisation of Biosafety is important to ensure that biological risks are properly controlled and that this can be demonstrated to auditors and regulators. Effective systems for Biosafety are equally applicable to Biosecurity control. This workshop will explore the high level management and local arrangements typically used. There will be discussion of the types of arrangement, the levels, roles and responsibilities and training. Thus should appeal to those wishing to set up a Biosafety or biosecurity system or improve on current arrangements.

This seminar is intended to provide a basis to set up a training & qualification program in connection with activities involving biohazards. After an introduction to training in general and more specifically to education, knowledge and experience, The trainees will set-up in small groups a training program for an imaginary workplace. Specific attention is paid to different training methods and to evaluation of training.