Chemical Use in Animal Models

Institutional health and safety programs are responsible for minimizing personnel risk in working with animals that have been administered hazardous chemicals. Regulations and associated guidance are lacking in specific processes for managing these animals. A chemical control banding system categorizes chemicals into bands where each band level is associated with specific control practices. This article describes a general approach to the engineering, administrative, and personal protective equipment practices for developing an animal chemical control banding system. An internal committee should be responsible for conducting the risk assessments to assign chemicals used in animals into band levels, with many factors and resources included to facilitate in this process. The authors provide examples from their home institution where an animal chemical banding system was implemented. Institutions can use this information when designing their own programs, which will likely be unique in consideration of their specific needs and resources