ABP Carcinogens and Other Toxic Chemicals in Rodents

1. Purpose and Scope

This Animal Biosafety Procedure (ABP) establishes occupational safety practices for the preparation, administration, housing, handling, and disposal of materials associated with carcinogens and other hazardous chemicals administered to laboratory rodents. It addresses exposures involving the chemical agent, contaminated animals, excreta, bedding, cages, tissues, and equipment. Animal welfare and procedural requirements remain governed by the applicable IACUC-approved protocol and Animal Care and Use Procedures (ACUPs).

Required precautions depend on the agent's hazards, formulation, dose, route and frequency of administration, metabolism and excretion, and the work being performed. Before work begins, the Principal Investigator (PI) must ensure that the existing laboratory-specific SOP or equivalent documented assessment addresses relevant animal exposures, duration of precautions, bedding and carcass handling, and responsibilities. No separate form is required when existing documents contain this information. The Safety Data Sheet (SDS) is an important source of hazard information, but may not adequately characterize experimental formulations, metabolites, or hazards presented by treated animals.

Work must comply with applicable Cornell University requirements, including the Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP) and Laboratory Safety Manual, and applicable OSHA standards, including 29 CFR 1910.1450 for covered laboratory use and 29 CFR 1910.1200 where applicable. Additional protections are required for particularly hazardous substances, including select carcinogens, reproductive toxins, and substances with a high degree of acute toxicity, as specified in the CHP.

Variations from approved animal procedures or IACUC protocol conditions require the appropriate animal-use review before implementation. Changes affecting chemical exposure controls must satisfy the Cornell Chemical Hygiene Plan and applicable EHS prior-review requirements. EHS and CARE should be consulted when changes affect both worker protection and animal care; this ABP does not establish an additional committee approval requirement for routine safety updates.

2. Responsibilities

• Principal Investigator (PI): Identifies hazardous chemicals and exposure pathways; ensures a documented risk assessment and task-specific procedures are available; arranges required training and competency assessment; coordinates facility use and waste disposition with CARE and EHS; and ensures personnel follow the approved controls.
• Research personnel: Complete required training, follow documented procedures and posted controls, use required protective equipment, communicate changes in experimental conditions, and promptly report incidents or deficiencies.
• Animal facility management and CARE: Coordinate room and cage management, animal handling, husbandry, veterinary support, communication with animal care staff, and facility-specific procedures. Animal care personnel must be informed of relevant hazards before assuming assigned work.
• Environment, Health and Safety (EHS): Provides technical guidance on chemical hazards, exposure controls, decontamination, waste management, and incident response within its areas of responsibility.

3. Administrative Controls

3.1 Hazard Assessment and Authorization

• 3.1.1 Before work begins, identify the chemical, relevant hazards, formulation, dose, route of administration, animal species, potential exposure pathways, and available elimination or excretion information, including uncertainty about active metabolites. Record this in the laboratory-specific SOP, chemical risk assessment, or applicable facility plan.
• 3.1.2 Identify tasks that may expose personnel, including solution preparation, dosing, restraint, cage changing, bedding handling, animal transport, tissue collection, equipment cleaning, and waste handling. Evaluate dermal, inhalation, ingestion, injection, and splash exposures as applicable.
• 3.1.3 Specify in the study- or agent-specific safety plan the work location, containment, PPE, training, labeling, minimum seven-day hazard-control period and the longer period, if any, indicated by the agent-specific assessment under Section 5.2, decontamination, waste handling, and incident response. The assessment may be incorporated into an existing laboratory SOP or facility hazard assessment; a new standalone form is not required when the necessary information is already documented.
• 3.1.4 Use the current controlled versions of the applicable Animal Care and Use Procedures (ACUPs) alongside this ABP. ACUP401 (Recommended Volumes for Administered Substances) governs administration volumes and associated animal-procedure considerations; ACUP413 (Use of Non-Pharmaceutical Grade Substances in Research Animals) applies when non-pharmaceutical-grade substances are used. Depending on the activity, also consult ACUP101 (Rodent Anesthesia), ACUP201 (Rodent Surgery), ACUP210 (Non-Survival Surgery), ACUP301 (Rodent Euthanasia), ACUP403 (Recommended Blood Collection Volume and Frequency), and ACUP408 (Retro-Orbital Bleeding). This ABP supplements those procedures with chemical exposure, contamination, and waste controls. It does not revise their approved animal-care methods or create an additional IACUC approval requirement.

3.2 Training and Competency

• 3.2.1 Complete the Cornell training required for the assigned activity, including applicable Laboratory Safety, Chemical Waste Disposal, and hazard-specific training.
• 3.2.2 Review the applicable CHP, SDS, agent-specific safety plan, animal procedure, spill response instructions, and waste handling requirements before starting work.
• 3.2.3 Receive training and demonstrate competency appropriate to the animal-handling, restraint, injection, sharps, equipment, and containment tasks being performed. The PI or designated supervisor must authorize personnel to perform assigned work.
• 3.2.4 CARE and EHS provide additional technical consultation or training as appropriate to the hazards and operations.

3.3 Access, Communication, and Signage

• 3.3.1 Notify the responsible animal facility manager before introducing hazardous chemicals into the facility, and establish which personnel will perform animal care, cage changes, cleaning, and waste removal.
• 3.3.2 Restrict access and establish a designated area where required by the CHP or the agent-specific risk assessment.
• 3.3.3 Post room or work-area information consistent with facility requirements. Information must identify the hazard, applicable restrictions, PPE, key handling and waste instructions, and contacts. Avoid posting unnecessary sensitive study information.
• 3.3.4 Label cages containing treated animals with the chemical or approved hazard identifier, date of last administration, handling restrictions, and appropriate contact. Maintain labeling and applicable precautions for a minimum of seven days after the last administration and longer as determined under Section 5.2. Seven days is a minimum, not an automatic clearance date.
• 3.3.5 Notify relevant facility personnel before changes in dosing, experimental schedule, animal location, or the hazard-control period.

3.4 Occupational Health

• 3.4.1 Participate in Cornell's Animal Users Health and Safety Program (AUHSP), as in accordance with the applicable program requirements.
• 3.4.2 Additional occupational health consultation, exposure assessment, or medical surveillance may be necessary based on the chemical and applicable regulations. AUHSP participation does not replace chemical-specific requirements.

4. Work Practices and Procedural Controls

4.1 Chemical Preparation and Administration

• 4.1.1 Use the engineering controls and PPE identified in Sections 5 and 6 and in the agent-specific safety plan. Prepare hazardous chemicals in a suitable designated area with containment appropriate to the material's physical and toxicological properties.
• 4.1.2 Use animal restraint methods that minimize injury to the animal and risk of bites, splashes, or accidental injection. Sedation or anesthesia, when appropriate, must be consistent with the approved animal protocol and veterinary requirements; it is not a substitute for adequate containment or personnel competency.
• 4.1.3 Keep absorbent, chemical-resistant protection on work surfaces where appropriate. Use closed or otherwise protected transfer systems when feasible, and prevent contamination of shared equipment and frequently touched surfaces.
• 4.1.4 Select a chemical fume hood, other local exhaust enclosure, glovebox, or appropriately configured containment device based on the actual hazards. A conventional recirculating Class II biosafety cabinet must not be assumed to control hazardous vapors; chemical fume hoods must not be assumed to provide required biological containment.

4.2 Sharps and General Hygiene

Follow the Cornell Laboratory Safety Manual for sharps safety, hand hygiene, laboratory attire, and general safe-work practices. Apply animal-specific restraint and procedural requirements in the current applicable ACUPs. When sharps contain or are contaminated with hazardous chemicals, identify an appropriate collection and disposal route in the agent-specific SOP; do not assume ordinary sharps disposal is sufficient for every chemical.

4.4 Surface Cleaning and Spills

Follow the Cornell Chemical Hygiene Plan and the Laboratory Safety Manual for chemical spill assessment, incidental spill cleanup, and emergency response. The agent-specific SOP must identify any animal-room considerations, including protection of animals and animal-care personnel, contaminated cage materials, and compatible cleaning or disposal methods. Do not presume bleach, sodium hydroxide, or a fixed contact time safely destroys every hazardous chemical. Use a chemical destruction or neutralization method only when supported for the specific agent and conditions of use.

4.5 Bedding, Cages, Waste, and Carcasses

• 4.5.1 Manage bedding, excreta, cages, and other potentially contaminated materials as contaminated throughout the control period described in Section 5.2. The minimum is seven days after the last administration, extended when the relevant elimination or excretion kinetics, active metabolites, tissue retention, persistence, repeat dosing, or other exposure pathways warrant a longer period under Section 5.2. Material generated during the control period retains its appropriate waste designation after that period ends.
• 4.5.2 Do not add bleach, sodium hydroxide, or other reactive liquids to bedding or animal waste unless that treatment has been evaluated, specifically authorized, and incorporated into the written procedure.
• 4.5.3 Perform cage changes in the equipment and location identified by the safety plan. Use methods that minimize airborne bedding dust, splashes, and direct contact. Identify who performs the first and subsequent cage changes.
• 4.5.4 Segregate and label sharps, contaminated disposable supplies, bedding, tissues, carcasses, and liquid wastes according to their hazards and the approved disposal route. Consider mixed chemical, biological, pharmaceutical, and other hazards.
• 4.5.5 Do not place chemically contaminated carcasses or bedding into a digester, ordinary trash, drain, or routine carcass-disposal stream without confirmation that the route is suitable and approved for the specific waste. A seven-day holding period or seven half-lives alone does not authorize reclassification or disposal of previously contaminated material.
• 4.5.6 Assign responsibilities for packaging, labeling, accumulation, pickup, and disposal of waste and carcasses in advance. CARE or animal care staff must not be presumed responsible unless the arrangements have been agreed upon.

4.6 Transport

• 4.6.1 Transport hazardous chemical solutions, contaminated specimens, and animal-related materials in closed, compatible, leak-resistant primary containers within suitable secondary containment. Provide labels and absorbent material as appropriate to the hazard and quantity.
• 4.6.2 Follow applicable facility procedures for moving treated live animals. Coordinate movement with the receiving area, including any special animal welfare, containment, or handling needs.

4.7 Tissue Collection and Necropsy

• 4.7.1 Select work locations, containment, and protective equipment based on the expected chemical exposure, splash and aerosol potential, and any concurrent biological hazards. A certified biosafety cabinet may be appropriate for particulate or biological exposure, but its suitability for chemical hazards must be evaluated.
• 4.7.2 Minimize sharps, splashes, and contamination of instruments and adjacent surfaces. Use mechanical restraint or positioning aids appropriate to the animal procedure.
• 4.7.3 Place specimens in compatible closed containers and transport them under Section 4.6. Manage instruments, tissues, fluids, and carcasses under the approved decontamination and waste plan.

5. Engineering Controls and Animal Housing

5.1 Containment Selection

• 5.1.1 Use a suitable chemical fume hood or other approved local exhaust control for operations that could release hazardous chemical dusts or vapors, including powder weighing or reconstitution when indicated by the risk assessment.
• 5.1.2 For work involving both chemical and biological hazards, consult EHS to select equipment that adequately controls both; a device appropriate for one hazard is not necessarily appropriate for the other.
• 5.1.3 Use suitable cage-change stations or containment devices when warranted by the hazards of bedding, excreta, or treated animals.

5.2 Housing and Handling

• 5.2.1 House animals in cages and facility arrangements that satisfy approved animal welfare requirements and the exposure controls established in the agent-specific plan. Ventilated or filter-top cages may be appropriate but are not universally sufficient for every volatile or other chemical hazard.
• 5.2.2 Maintain hazardous-chemical precautions for treated animals and their housing for at least seven days after the final administration, consistent with the existing ABP minimum. Extend this period when the agent-specific assessment indicates continuing risk from excretion, active metabolites, tissue persistence, repeat dosing, or other exposure pathways. When relevant and reliable kinetic data are available, seven applicable elimination or excretion half-lives may be considered as a conservative screening benchmark, not an automatic clearance criterion or a new universal prerequisite. A plasma half-life may not represent persistence in bedding, tissues, or excreta. When sufficient information is unavailable, use the existing minimum and consult EHS Chemical Safety and animal facility management to assess whether longer precautions are necessary. No elapsed period by itself reclassifies waste generated while the hazard was present.
• 5.2.3 Return living animals to routine husbandry only after the required control period and any agent-specific release conditions have been satisfied and the PI or designee has coordinated the transition with animal facility personnel. Cages and equipment must be cleaned or otherwise managed under the approved procedure before being returned to unrestricted service. This decision does not reclassify waste, bedding, tissues, or carcasses generated while the hazard was present.

6. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Follow the Chemical Hygiene Plan and Laboratory Safety Manual for baseline PPE, chemical compatibility, and respiratory protection requirements. During chemical preparation and administration to rodents, use a fluid-resistant, solid-front protective gown and double gloves, together with applicable eye protection and other facility-required PPE, unless an EHS-authorized task-specific alternative provides equivalent or better protection. Select glove material and additional face, body, or respiratory protection based on the agent, formulation, procedure, and assessment. Use animal-care-approved PPE and doffing practices to avoid transferring contamination from cages, bedding, or animals into clean areas.

7. Exposure and Incident Response

• 7.1 Stop work and protect other personnel when an exposure, spill, containment failure, or other unsafe condition occurs. Obtain immediate emergency assistance for serious injuries, significant exposures, or uncontrolled releases.
• 7.2 For skin contact, promptly remove contaminated clothing and flush or wash the affected area as indicated by the SDS and emergency procedure. For eye exposure, immediately flush at an eyewash station for at least 15 minutes unless substance-specific medical instructions require otherwise. Do not delay emergency care to complete reporting.
• 7.3 For a needlestick or other injection injury, seek prompt medical evaluation. Provide the chemical name, concentration, approximate amount, exposure route, and SDS or other hazard information when available.
• 7.4 Notify the supervisor immediately and the animal facility contact where applicable. Report work-related incidents and potential exposures through Cornell’s Cority incident reporting portal within 24 hours, following immediate emergency response and medical care. Follow facility-specific notification instructions when relevant.
• 7.5 Review the incident and reassess controls before resuming affected work. Coordinate changes with EHS, CARE, and the applicable approval authorities as needed.

8. Emergency Contacts

• Police, fire, or medical emergencies: Dial 911 from a Cornell phone or 607-255-1111 to reach Cornell Public Safety Communications from any phone.
• Environment, Health and Safety: 607-255-8200; askEHS@cornell.edu.
• CARE: Follow the contact and after-hours veterinary arrangements posted for the animal facility and study.
• Incident reporting: Cornell EHS Incident Reporting.