College Policy on the Avoidance of Laboratory Animal Allergy

1. Background 
2. Policy Statement 
3. Responsibilities
   •  Heads of Academic Departments 
   •  Director of CBS 
   •  Director of Estates 
   •  Director of Occupational Health 
   •  Research Group Leaders 
   •  Staff, students and visitors working with laboratory animals
4. Codes of Practice and Guidance 

1. Background

1. Persons working with laboratory animals are at high risk of developing allergic diseases through exposure to aerosol of allergenic proteins excreted in urine.
   
   
2. Total avoidance of exposure is not practical. High specification room ventilation systems and enclosed caging systems reduce but do not eliminate exposure.
   
   
3. Management systems to ensure that exposures are kept as low as is reasonably practical and that individuals developing allergies can be quickly identified are required to reduce the risk of allergic disease to a minimum and to achieve compliance with health and safety regulations.

1. The College will take all reasonable steps to control hazardous exposure to laboratory animal allergens so as to protect the health of staff, students and others who may be exposed to these allergens in their work.
   
   
2. The College will continue to strive to reach industry standards for the containment of allergen for all work with laboratory animals.
   
   
3. All work relating to the holding and use of laboratory animals in College will be managed in accordance with Codes of Practice and Standard Operating Procedures governing the work.
   
   
4. The College will operate a health surveillance programme for all persons working in CBS facilities or departmental laboratories where animals are used to enable early identification of anyone developing allergic problems. Additional control measures will be introduced to protect these individuals from symptomatic disease.
   
   
5. The College will make every effort to re-deploy to other work staff or students with laboratory animal allergy where additional controls are ineffective in preventing progression of allergic problems.

1. Effective implementation of the policy and its codes of practice requires action by, and co-operation, between, academic departments, Central Biomedical Services, the Occupational Health Service and the Estates Division.

1. Ensuring that all work with laboratory animals carried out by staff, students and visitors to the department can comply with the relevant Codes of Practice,
2. Ensuring that any work with live animals undertaken in a departmental laboratory is effectively managed to minimise the risk of exposure to allergens,
3. Ensuring all work using live animals undertaken in a departmental laboratory is inspected on an annual basis,
4. Ensuring all staff and students working with laboratory animals participate in health surveillance programmes for laboratory animal allergy, and
5. Facilitating the re-deployment of staff unable to continue with animal work because of the development of laboratory animal allergy.

1. Ensuring that CBS facilities are managed so as to minimise exposure to laboratory animal allergens,
2. Developing Standard Operating Procedures for work with animals & work in animal houses,
3. Ensuring provision of training in basic animal handling for members of College working with laboratory animals,
4. Ensuring the provision of competency assessments in handling techniques for staff, students and other users of CBS facilities,
5. Advising on appropriate methods for the handling of laboratory animals,
6. Ensuring that swipe-card access to CBS facilities is restricted to persons enrolled in a health surveillance programme, and
7. Ensuring the provision of basic personal protective equipment for persons entering CBS facilities.

  3.3 The Director of Facilities Management is responsible for:

1. Ensuring that ventilation systems for CBS facilities and rooms used for work with animals are effectively maintained.

3.4 The Director of Occupational Health is responsible for:

1. Advising on appropriate personal health protection measures to limit hazardous exposures,
2. Advising on the management of persons identified as sensitised to animal allergens,
3. Organising an effective health surveillance programme for laboratory animal allergy, and
4. Auditing the implementation and effectiveness of the policy.

  3.5 Principle Investigators are responsible for:

1. Ensuring that risk assessments for all work with laboratory anim als are undertaken and, where required, approved and that necessary control procedures are in place before work commences,
2. Ensuring that all work with laboratory animals is undertaken in accordance with Codes of Practice and Standard Operating Procedures, and
3. Ensuring all members of and visitors to their group are provided with appropriate information and appropriately trained to avoid unnecessary hazardous exposures to allergens.

3.6 Staff, students and visitors working with laboratory animals are responsible for:

1. Complying with Standard Operating Procedures,
2. Participating in the health surveillance programme, where required, and
3. Reporting possible symptoms of allergy to the College OH Service.

4. Codes of Practice & Guidance under this policy

• College Code of Practice for Research Work with Laboratory Animals
  Imperial College Central Biomedical and Occupational Health Services July 2002.
  
  
• College Code of Practice for Work with Live Animals in Departmental Laboratories
  Imperial College Central Biomedical, Safety and Occupational Health Services August 2001.
  
  
• Guidance Note: Working safely with Laboratory Animals 
• Imperial College Central Biomedical and Occupational Health Services July 2002.

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