Title 7

SECTION 331.12

331.12 Biocontainment.

§ 331.12 Biocontainment.

(a) An individual or entity required to register under this part must develop and implement a written biocontainment plan that is commensurate with the risk of the select agent or toxin, given its intended use. 4 The biocontainment plan must contain sufficient information and documentation to describe the biocontainment procedures for the select agent or toxin, including any animals (including arthropods) or plants intentionally or accidentally exposed to or infected with a select agent. The current biocontainment plan must be submitted for initial registration, renewal of registration, or when requested. The biocontainment plan must include the following provisions:

4 Technical assistance and guidance may be obtained by contacting APHIS.

(1) The hazardous characteristics of each agent or toxin listed on the entity's registration and the biocontainment risk associated with laboratory procedures related to the select agent or toxin;

(2) Safeguards in place with associated work practices to protect entity personnel, the public, and the environment from exposure to the select agent or toxin including, but not limited to: Personal protective equipment and other safety equipment; containment equipment including, but not limited to, biological safety cabinets, animal caging systems, and centrifuge safety containers; and engineering controls and other facility safeguards;

(3) Written procedures for each validated method used for disinfection, decontamination, or destruction, as appropriate, of all contaminated or presumptively contaminated materials including, but not limited to: Cultures and other materials related to the propagation of select agents or toxins, items related to the analysis of select agents and toxins, personal protective equipment, arthropod containment systems, extracted plant and/or arthropod tissues, laboratory surfaces and equipment, and effluent material; and

(4) Procedures for the handling of select agents and toxins in the same spaces with non-select agents and toxins to prevent unintentional contamination.

(b) The biocontainment procedures must be sufficient to contain the select agent or toxin (e.g., physical structure and features of the entity, and operational and procedural safeguards).

(1) “Containment Facilities and Safeguards for Exotic Plant Pathogens and Pests” (Robert P. Kahn and S.B. Mathur eds., 1999); and

(2) “A Practical Guide to Containment: Greenhouse Research with Transgenic Plants and Microbes” (Patricia L. Traynor ed., 2001).

(d) [Reserved]

(e) The plan must be reviewed annually and revised as necessary. Drills or exercises must be conducted at least annually to test and evaluate the effectiveness of the plan. The plan must be reviewed and revised, as necessary, after any drill or exercise and after any incident. Drills or exercises must be documented to include how the drill or exercise tested and evaluated the plan, any problems that were identified and corrective action(s) taken, and the names of registered entity personnel participants.

[70 FR 13278, Mar. 18, 2005, as amended at 77 FR 61076, Oct. 5, 2012; 79 FR 26830, May 12, 2014; 82 FR 6205, Jan. 19, 2017]