Information for Biosafety Officers (BSO)
As an employee, you will support your employer in implementing accident prevention and health protection provisions.
You will follow the approved safety rules and instructions of your employer in relation to occupational safety and health protection and report any deficits that could impair occupational safety and health protection.
As a biosafety officer, you support your superiors in implementing biosafety within your research group.
Find out what this task entails here.
You can find general information on biosafety at ETH Zurich here.
Chemical Wastewater and Water Protection
The most important tasks and responsibilities for the biosafety officers in terms of water conservation are the following:
- Being familiar with the chapters of the ETH Waste Disposal Guideline which are related to your line of work
- You perform briefings in accordance with the disposal guidelines of ETH Zurich and monitor compliance with the guidelines
- You follow instructions in relation to water conservation and implement them within your laboratory
- Not discharging any chemicals, e.g. verifiable toxic and persistent substances such as chlorinated hydrocarbons, aromatic hydrocarbons, or heavy metal compounds into the wastewater
- Not using water jet pumps
Contact:
Hazardous waste
The Download ETH Waste Disposal Concept (PDF, 307 KB) applies to all areas of ETH – excluding the cafeterias – and regulates the flow of materials and the responsibilities of all those charged with waste disposal. The aim is to use resources sparingly and to reduce waste.
Hazardous waste is any kind of waste that ‒ on the basis of its composition, its chemical, physical or biological properties ‒ requires special technical and organizational measures to dispose of in an environmentally compatible manner. Included in this category are, for example, acids, alkalis, solvents, medications, and chemicals. Hazardous waste must be collected separately and disposed of at one of the hazardous waste disposal points at ETH Zurich.
Contact:
Documents
- Download Disposal Guideline (PDF, 307 KB)
- Download Factsheet: Damaged Lithium-ion Accumulator (PDF, 206 KB)
- Download Factsheet: Disposal of Hazardous Waste - Basic Principles (PDF, 657 KB)
- Download Factsheet: Disposal of Lithium-ion Accumulators (PDF, 143 KB)
- Download Factsheet: Disposal of Medical Waste (PDF, 208 KB)
- Download Factsheet: Disposal of Piranha solution (PDF, 160 KB)
- Download Factsheet: Neutralization of Liquids Containing Chlorine Bleach (PDF, 128 KB)
- Download Form: Inquiry Hazardous Waste Disposal (PDF, 193 KB)
Transport of Dangerous Goods
Transporting dangerous goods requires special safety precautions that are regulated by law. Dangerous goods are substances and items that pose a threat for people, animals or the environment and whose transport is only allowed according to Regulations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods on the Road (ADR). It is not permitted to transport dangerous goods via public transportation or bicycle.
Contact:
Documents
- Download Factsheet: Transport of dangerous goods made easy (143 KB)
- Download Factsheet: Carriage of Dangerous Goods (PDF, 2 MB)
- Download Form: Order for the Carriage of Dangerous Goods (PDF, 66 KB)
- Download Factsheet: Transport of Lithium-ion Accumulators (PDF, 286 KB)
- Download Factsheet: Safe transport of biological material (PDF, 457 KB)
- Download Factsheet: Damaged Lithim-ion Accumulator (PDF, 206 KB)
Members of ETH Zurich are sometimes exposed to particular risks of infection or contagion in the course of their research work, during field trials or on excursions, which can be reduced by a Download vaccination (PDF, 133 KB). ETH Zurich bears the costs for the vaccination of its employees who require a special vaccination due to their professional activity at ETH Zurich. The units concerned (chairs, institutes and other organisational units) pay for these costs. Students usually pay for the costs of vaccinations themselves.
For advice regarding vaccinations and receiving vaccinations, you can either contact the external page Travel Clinic of the University of Zurich or the external page Centre for Occupational Medicine, Ergonomics and Hygiene (AEH).
One of the special vaccinations for which information is most frequently sought is the vaccination against tick-borne disease: information on tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) and the vaccination itself can be obtained from the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) external page «Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE)».
Contact:
If required, the external page biosafety curriculum offers courses for training the biosafety officers.
In addition, the BSOs must attend the relevant annual ETH-internal seminars.
Further courses and knowledge must/can be attended or acquired depending on the area of work. You can find these on our course overview.