Office of Risk & Safety HomeThe Queens University Biohazard Committee requires, as a condition of obtaining a biohazard permit, that the Principal Investigator ensure that all personnel have both general and laboratory-specific training in the handling of biohazardous material.
The training program for each lab is described in their biohazard permit file in TRAQ/Romeo, which can be accessed by all Biohazard Team members listed on the permit.
Biohazard Training is designed:
- So that training starts as soon as an individual joins a laboratory both for their personal safety and so that they can begin supervised work without waiting for a centralized course.
- To provide centralized accreditation for biosafety training through the Department of Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S). Centralized biosafety training and accreditation will ensure that certain information is provided and understood; demonstrate due diligence by the institution; promote safety and regulatory compliance (PHAC, CFIA, etc.); and assist the laboratory should there be an inspection by a regulatory agency.
Centralized Biosafety Accreditation provided by the Department of Environmental Health and Safety:
Three different quizzes are available. Two quizzes based on the Queen's Biosafety Manual are available through onQ as EHS Biosafety Level 1 and EHS Biosafety Level 1 and 2. Information is provided below about which one of these quizzes you should take. In addition, those who work with human tissues, blood or other bodily fluids, will read a set of slides and write a quiz available through onQ as the EHS Blood Borne Pathogens Course.
Read the sections of the Queen’s Biosafety Manual and any Environmental Health and Safety SOPs that are required, depending on the containment level of your lab and the requirements in your Principal Investigator's Biohazard Permit Training Statement.
If you have questions, concerns, or difficulty with any of the information in the Biosafety Manual, Environmental Health and Safety SOPs, or with the quiz questions, you are encouraged to contact the Biosafety Officer, Dan Langham (ext. 74980), to discuss them.
The Biosafety Officer is happy to help with your risk assessments and to assist you in finding safe solutions for technical safety problems. Questions or concerns about how things ought to be done in your laboratory will be handled sensitively, in a consultative manner.
If you do not achieve a passing grade of 80% on a quiz, you will be contacted by the Biosafety officer for an in-person training session or communication by email to clarify your understanding.
BioSafety - Level 1
Personnel from most laboratories with a Queen's University level 1 biohazard permit will write the Level 1 Biosafety Quiz (passing grade 80%), to obtain a Queen’s Biosafety Level 1 Certificate.
However, there are some circumstances when you are required to write the Biosafety Level 1 and 2 quiz even if you are only working with level 1 material:
- if you are culturing cell lines using a biological safety cabinet even if the cell lines have been designated risk group 1
- if you will be working in a level 2 containment facility, even if you are only working with level 1 material.
To prepare for taking the quiz, read the Queen's University Biosafety Manual (PDF 1.4 MB).
If you have any questions about material in the manual or other biosafety questions, contact the University Biosafety Officer.
If you need to write the level 2 quiz then go straight to the Biosafety Level 1 and 2 quiz because it combines the questions from level 1 with additional questions for level 2.
The Level 1 Quiz is based on the entire Queen’s University Biosafety Manual except for the following sections: Containment Level 2 and 2+ Operational Practices; Operational Requirements for Specific Materials; and parts of Appendix I.
You are also responsible for learning the information in Appendix I that applies to your laboratory. Your knowledge of those sections will not be assessed in this quiz, but it should be assessed as part of your lab-specific training.
Biosafety - Level 2
If you work in a laboratory with a level 2 or 2+ biohazard permit, write the Level 1 and 2 Biosafety Quiz (passing grade 80%), to obtain a Queen’s Biosafety Level 2 Certificate.
In addition, there are some circumstances when you are required to write the Biosafety Level 1 and 2 quiz even if you are only working with level 1 material:
- if you are culturing cell lines using a biological safety cabinet even if the cell lines have been designated risk group 1
- if you will be working in a level 2 containment facility, even if you are only working with level 1 material
To prepare for taking the level 2 quiz, read the Queen's University Biosafety Manual (PDF 1.4 MB) and SOP-Biosafety-03 on Biological Safety Cabinets (PDF 815 KB).
If you have any questions about material in the manual, biosafety SOPs, or other biosafety questions, contact the University Biosafety Officer.
The Biosafety Level 2 Quiz is based on SOP-Biosafety-03 on Biosafety Cabinets, and the entire Biosafety Manual except for the sections of Appendix I that do not apply to your laboratory. You are responsible for learning the information from the sections "Operational Requirements for Specific Materials" and Appendix I that apply to your laboratory or any other laboratory that you will work in routinely. Your knowledge of those sections will not be assessed in detail in this quiz, but should be assessed as part of your lab-specific training.
If you work in a level 2+ laboratory, you will also be required to write a lab-specific quiz as part of your lab-specific training before working in the lab.
Human Tissue, Blood or Other Bodily Fluids
Those working with Human Tissue, Blood or Other Bodily Fluids must read the EHS SOP on this subject SOP-Biosafety-08 (PDF 410KB) and take the course and quiz available through onQ as the EHS Blood Borne Pathogens Course.
Registration
Register for courses/quizzes in onQ. Take either EHS Biosafety Level 1 or EHS Biosafety Level 1 and 2 Course. Also take the EHS Blood Borne Pathogens Course if applicable.
To self-enrol in a non-academic course:
- From the OnQ homepage, locate the Browse Self-Registration Courses widget.
- Click the blue Browse Now button.
- Search for active courses by entering terms that match course titles and descriptions. Enter EHS in the search field and a list of all courses will show up.
- Select the course you want to enrol in from the search results.
- From the course details page, click Enrol in Course.
If you are returning to a quiz that you started earlier (in progress), you do not need to self-register again. From the OnQ Home Page, your training course will be listed at the top of the page under My Courses.