Who Should Attend our Biosafety Course?

Our Control of Biohazards course covers a variety of important topics such as infectious waste handling, biosafety practices, aerosol transmission, biosafety cabinet use, recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid research, laboratory acquired infection, biosafety training, biosafety management, occupational surveillance, bloodborne pathogens, and risk management principles.

https://www.legionella.com/biosafety-training/

The course involves a Pre- and Post-Exam and provides to each attendee the COB Training Certificate, 4.5 ABSA CM points, and a USB stick with 1,500 pages of continuously updated lecture slides and lecture handouts with hyperlinked tables of contents and hyperlinked references. 

Understanding how to handle dangerous biohazards is crucial to preventing laboratory accidents and contamination both in and out of the workplace. Below is a list of suggested job descriptions we recommend take our Control of Biohazards in the Research Laboratory Course:

• Biosafety officers
• Occupational medicine physicians and nurses
• Safety officers
• Industrial hygienists
• Directors of health and safety programs
• Biosafety committee chairs and members
• Research compliance managers
• Occupational health personnel
• Clinical and biomedical laboratory supervisors
• Scientists and technicians
• Architects
• Facility engineers
• Laboratory animal veterinarians
• Designated responsible facility officials
• Security managers

The Control of Biohazards Course also provides the information needed by individuals applying to the American Biological Safety Association (ABSA) International for designation as a Registered Biological Safety Professional (RBP) or plan to take the ABSA Biological Safety examination to qualify as a Certified Biological Safety Professional CBSP). The course awards 4.5 ABSA International CM points.

Whether participants have prior biosafety experience or not, this course provides in-depth information on how to handle biohazards and prevent contamination within their facility or workplace. 

Biosafety Practices and Techniques

When working in a Legionella testing laboratory or other facility that works with or handles biological hazards, it’s important to have your staff trained with the best biosafety practices and techniques.

First and foremost, you need to make sure your staff understand the biohazards they are working with and what to do if they are exposed. Assistance should be quickly available when a worker is exposed to chemicals or biohazards.

Ensure that all personnel attend laboratory safety training and understand all procedures and safety precautions associated with their activities.

Over 2,000 people have attended our Control of Biohazards in the Research Laboratory over the past 39 years. 

Registration for the April 9-13, 2018 course at the Johns Hopkins University Mt. Washington Campus Baltimore MD USA is open. https://www.legionella.com/biosafety-training/

All personnel must practice good personal hygiene by washing their hands frequently with mild non-antimicrobial soap, especially after handling potentially hazardous materials. 

Our 4-day Control of Biohazards Course will be given April 9-13, 2018 at the Johns Hopkins Mt. Washington Campus, Baltimore MD.
Register for the course online at www.picatic.com/AtriumEHSbiohazardscontrol
Questions? sbowers@atriumehs.com (703) 689-9482.

The Importance of Legionella Testing

Legionnaires’ disease is a serious pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria. Legionella are naturally found in streams, rivers, pools, and ponds. Legionella can survive water treatment plant biocides and flow through potable water systems. Quantitative routine legionella testing is needed to determine if your legionella management plan is working.

Legionnaires' disease (legionellosis) – Legionella bacteria are inhaled into lung air sacks and grow in white blood cells which produces fluid in the lungs that blocks air exchange. Symptoms are fever, chills, muscle ache, and chest pain. more. Legionellosis can be treated with antibiotics, but about 10% percent of people with the disease die.

It can be found in common places – Legionella are found in water systems such as hot tubs, showers, fountains and hot water systems. Legionella grow in warm water-containing mechanical equipment and are released as a mist that you can inhale and become infected. Equipment associated with legionellosis includes cooling towers next to or on top of buildings, car wash facilities, grocery store vegetable misters, hot tubs, fountains, and other aerosol-producing equipment. There is a 2016 guideline from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that helps building owners reduce the legionella hazard.

Though outbreaks of this Legionnaires’ disease are rare, it is still important to have legionella testing at your facilities. Legionella risk reduction procedures without legionella testing may not prevent legionellosis cases. So, to accurately protect the environment, yourself, and those around you, be sure to find a trustworthy legionella testing service. Find more information about reputable legionella testing and biosafety procedures at Legionella.com.

3 Basic Risk Management Principles

When working with biohazardous substances, having your workplace trained in risk management is essential to your company’s well-being. Identifying these risks and understanding how to handle them should an accident occur can make all the difference in the health and safety of your staff.

1. If you don’t already know, you should first figure out what risks are presented to you, your organization, and your staff while in the workplace. Health and safety risks are extremely important to identify as well as property damage risks due to contamination or simple negligence of maintenance.

2. Once these risks are identified, it’s important to analyze each risk and determine “what’s the worst that could happen?” That may be a loss in finances or something more serious, such as a loss of life. It’s also important to determine the potential frequency of these events and why they might occur in the first place.

3. Proper risk control practices allow hazardous situations to be reduced, prevented, and even avoided based on the action that needs to take place for each potential event. In our Control of Biohazards course, we’ll train you and your staff on all of the risk management principles that are essential to your facility.

An Overview of Bioterrorism

Bioterrorism is the act of releasing toxic biological agents in order to harm a group of people. In our biohazard training courses, we’ll provide course takers with the information they’ll need to handle and treat the effects of a bioterrorism attack. Biological agents such as viruses and bacteria are typically found in nature, but it’s possible for them to be altered by man for malicious intent against a country or group. These agents are separated into three categories, A, B, and C based on how easily they can be spread and the severity of their symptoms.

The most recent bioterrorism attack on the United States occurred shortly after 9/11 by a series of letters sent out containing anthrax powder. These letters arrived in two waves. The first were sent from Trenton, New Jersey to newspapers and media in New York and Boca Raton on September 18, 2001. Only two of these letters were found, but the outbreak of anthrax infections led to the conclusion that there had been others. Two more letters were sent on October 9, again from Trenton, addressed to two Democratic senators at the Capitol in Washington DC. The contaminants in these two letters were stronger than the substance in the first set and the letters contained approximately on gram of almost pure anthrax spores.

Through our biohazard training courses, we can educate individuals on how to prepare for a bioterrorist attack and prevent harmful biological agents from escaping and infecting millions.

GTS Legionella Testing Laboratory agrees with CDC's statement on testing;

“Environmental testing for Legionella is useful to validate the effectiveness of control measures. The program team should determine if environmental testing for Legionella should be performed and, if so, how test results will be used to validate the program. If the program team decides to test for Legionella, then the testing protocol should be specified and documented in advance.”

Source: Page 21. CDC - Developing a Water Management Program to Reduce Legionella Growth & Spread in Buildings  http://www.cdc.gov/legionella/maintenance/wmp-toolkit.html