Special Hazards

Select Agents

Boston University’s Select Agent Program follows the guidelines set forth under the Departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture regulations. Under these regulations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and US Department of Agriculture are required to regulate the possession of biological agents and toxins that have the potential to pose a severe threat to public health and safety.

Boston University requires that all principal investigators wishing to work with any select agents be registered through the CDC. Environmental Health and Safety manages the registration program for the university. For any additional information on working with this material, please contact Environmental Health and Safety.

• Current List of CDC/USDA Select Agents
• Boston Public Health Commission Disease Surveillance and Reporting Regulation

Inactivated Biosafety Level 3 and 4 Samples

The use of inactivated, non-infectious biological samples derived from Biological Safety Level 3 (BSL3) and Biological Safety Level 4 (BSL4) (i.e. virus, bacteria, etc.) agents must be reviewed by the Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) and the Chair of the Institutional Biosafety Committee. This review must be completed and approval must be in place prior to receipt and use of the biological materials or samples at Boston University and Boston Medical Center.