Occupational Health Hazards and Disaster Management in Laboratory Animal Facilities

Abstract

Animal facility offers live biological tools to the scientific community. It is a legal and ethical responsibility of the facility provider/management to protect the employees and researchers from work-related hazards. Animal facility staff and users routinely perform several tasks that expose them to animals, zoonotic agents, infectious materials, and equipment that may impose a possible health risk. Besides, research personnel working with animals are equally prone to occupational health hazards. Unattended hazards may lead to disaster, causing suffering and severe damage to life. A disaster management plan is an absolute requirement for tackling unintended incidents. However, a single plan cannot address all the accidents. Therefore, it is essential to review and upgrade the safety program continuously and regularly. Institutes should devise occupational health and safety management programs to prohibit any harm to individuals and different components of the facility. A successful program needs coordination and joint management by individuals, laboratories/service providers, organizations, and the government.