About Biological Risk Assessment – How safe are we in our labs if we apply the risk based approach according to the new WHO Biosafety Manual?

Instructor: Kathrin Summermatter
Moderator: Heather Sheeley

RE-RUN UPON POPULAR DEMAND (confirmation as soon as we have 25 participants)

Managing biological risks in various environments in which hazardous biological materials are used, be it in research, diagnostic, production facilities or animal units is of utmost importance. Biosafety professionals very often play the interface between different stakeholders such as scientists, engineering, maintenance or cleaning staff.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, biosafety professionals were constantly challenged and had to apply the risk based approach again and again nearly on a daily basis. Initial risk assessments for activities in the diagnostic laboratory had to be adapted to the new conditions (e.g. shortage of safety equipment) and at the same time the safety of all laboratory staff had to be ensured.

How can we deal with the increased workload during thee COVID-19 pandemic and at the same time guarantee the safety of our employees?

In this webinar these and other questions will be addressed by using the risk based approach of the new WHO biosafety manual. 

Main Topics

• Introduction into the key elements for risk assessment of the up-dated WHO Laboratory Biosafety Manual (LBM4)
• Risk assessment for SARS-CoV-2 activities:
  • handling unknown samples

  • increasing number of tests

  • safety of staff

  • waste handling

CWA Reference

7.2.3 Biological and other hazards in the work area
7.2.7 Biorisk assessment and management