HEALTH AND SAFETY GUIDELINES FOR GRANTEES AND CONTRACTORS

NIH GUIDE, Volume 23, Number 23, June 17, 1994



P.T. 34



Keywords:

  SCIENCE PLANNING/POLICY 

  Health & Safety Standards, Environ 

  Occupational Health and Safety 



National Institutes of Health



This notice is a republication, with minor modifications, of a March

1990 issuance on this subject.  It is being reissued to emphasize its

continuing importance.



Organizations receiving grant or contract awards are responsible for

protecting their personnel from hazardous conditions.  The Government

is not legally liable for accidents, illnesses, or claims arising out

research performed under its awards, but the National Institutes of

Health (NIH) is nonetheless aware that a variety of hazards threaten

the safety and health of both laboratory and clinical research

personnel.  Accordingly, the guidelines that follow are designed to

(1) identify potential hazards, (2) advise awardee organizations and

investigators of certain standards that should be considered in order

to address particular health and/or safety concerns, and (3)

emphasize that concerns about potentially hazardous conditions could

result in grant or contract funding delays until those concerns have

been resolved to the satisfaction of the awarding component.



1.  Sources of potential danger to research personnel include the

following classes of hazard:



a.  Biohazards (e.g., Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), other

infectious agents, oncogenic viruses).

b.  Chemical hazards (e.g., carcinogens; chemotherapeutic agents;

other toxic chemicals; flammable or explosive materials).

c.  Radioactive materials.



2.  The following guidelines and standards contain information

designed to assist grantees and contractors in providing a safe work

environment for research personnel.  Therefore, depending upon the

particular safety hazard at issue, grantees and contractors are

expected to consult these guidelines.  They may be obtained from:



Division of Safety

Office of Research Services

National Institutes of Health

Building 31, Room 1C02

Bethesda, MD  20892



a.  Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories, U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for disease Control

and the National Institutes of Health.  HHS Publication No. (CDC) 93-

8395.



b.  Recommendations for Prevention of HIV Transmission in Health-Care

Settings.  Morbidity and Mortality Report, August 21, 1987, Vol. 35,

No. 2S.



c.  Update:  Universal Precautions for Prevention of Transmission of

Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Hepatitis B Virus, and Other Bloodborne

Pathogens in Health-Care Settings.  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly

Report, June 24, 1988, Vol. 37, No. 24.



d.  Recommendations for the Safe Handling of Parenteral

Antineoplastic Drugs, NIH Publication No. 83-2621.



e.  NIH Guidelines for the Laboratory Use of Chemical Carcinogens,

NIH Publication No. 81-2385.



The following materials are also recommended and may be purchased

from:



National Academy Press

2102 Constitution Avenue, NW

Washington, DC  20418



a.  Prudent Practices for Handling Hazardous Chemicals in the

Laboratory.  Price $19.95

b.  Prudent Practices for the Disposal of Chemicals from the

Laboratory.  Price $19.95

c.  Biosafety in the Laboratory:  Prudent Practices for Handling and

Disposal of Infectious Materials.  Price $19.95



3.  Grant applications and contract proposals posing special hazards

typically are identified during the initial review process, but such

concerns can formally be expressed by agency staff or consultants at

any time prior to award.  Regardless of the timing of the described

concern, grant or contract funding could be delayed until the matter

has been resolved to the satisfaction of the awarding component.



Special hazards that are identified after an award is made may lead

to suspension of work under the grant or contract pending corrective

action by the awardee.  (See 45 CFR 74, Subpart M, concerning grant

suspension and 48 CFR 12.5 concerning contract "stop work" orders.)



Grantee and contractor organizations are not required to submit

documented assurance of their specific attention to the guidelines

and standards identified in section 2 of this notice.  However, where

dictated by the circumstances, grantees and contractors should be

able to provide evidence that pertinent health and safety standards

have been considered and, where necessary, have been put in practice.

Such evidence may be requested by appropriate NIH staff, for example,

during a site visit.



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