Safety Committees

It is the policy of the IBC of NC State that Principal Investigators (PI) are responsible for the safe handling of biohazardous agents, including recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid molecules, in their facilities.

Approval for Use Review requirements for use of biological materials here.  Additionally, registration and approval procedures and forms are described in the NC State Laboratory Biosafety Manual Chapter 1: “Procedures Governing the Use of Biohazardous Agents.”

Meeting Schedule and Submission Deadlines The IBC reviews registrations at regularly scheduled meetings.  Review the meeting schedule and submission deadlines for each meeting here.  

Approved IBC Meeting Minutes can be viewed here.

Membership on the OSH Council shall consist of the Chair of the Biosafety Committee, the Radiation Safety Committee, the Reactor Safety and Audit Committee, and the Chairs of the Unit Safety Committees. Additional members shall include one representative each from the Faculty Senate, the Student Senate, and the Graduate Student Association. Ex officio members shall be the Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Environmental Health and Public Safety, the Director of Environmental Health and Safety, the Director of Compliance, and the Manager of Occupational Health and Safety.

The Council shall meet at least two times a year and, with staff assistance from the Environmental Health and Safety Center, issue an annual review of Safety and Health at North Carolina State University. The Chancellor may call to order the first meeting of each academic year and provide a charge to the Council in person.

1. Proposed changes in equipment, systems, tests, experiments or procedures which have safety significance but do not involve any unreviewed safety questions;
2. All new procedures and major revisions thereto having safety significance, proposed changes in reactor facility equipment or systems having safety significance;
3. All new experiments or classes of experiments that could affect reactivity or result in the release of radioactivity;


4. Proposed changes to the Technical Specifications or facility license;


5. Violations of technical specifications or license;


6. Violations of internal procedures or instructions having safety significance;


7. Operating abnormalities having safety significance;


8. Reportable events (as per technical specifications);


9. Audit reports.
   
   

1. Facility operations for conformance to the technical specifications and license, annually, but at intervals not to exceed fifteen months;


2. The retraining and requalification program for the operating staff, biennially, but at intervals not to exceed thirty months;


3. The results of action taken to correct those deficiencies that may occur in the reactor facility equipment, systems, structures or methods of operation that affect reactor safety, annually, but at intervals not to exceed fifteen months;


4. The Emergency Plan and Emergency Procedures, biennially, but at intervals not to exceed thirty months;


5. Radiation Protection.
   
   

The College of Veterinary Medicine Radiation Safety Subcommittee (CVM RSSC) is a subcommittee of the North Carolina State University Radiation Safety Committee (RSC). The RSC is mandated as a condition of the federal and state licenses for the use of radioactive materials and radiation-producing devices on the NC State University campus and its extension sites.

The CVM Radiation Safety Subcommittee provides oversight of the policies, procedures and user conduct of ionizing and non-ionizing radiation uses at the College of Veterinary Medicine and the NC State University Veterinary Hospital. The subcommittee reviews and approves all Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) applications that utilize radiation prior to final IACUC approval. The subcommittee provides oversight for safe radiation practices, evaluating the efficacy of safety protocols, determining additional training or oversight needs, and recommending mitigation for violations. The CVM Radiation Safety Subcommittee meets independently but reports to the RSC.

In order to fulfill its duties to the university, the CVM RSSC participates in comprehensive reviews of the operations and performance of the Radiation Safety Program on an annual basis and meets at least three times per academic year.

Members of the CVM RSSC are appointed by the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, and the Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration, based on recommendations from the Radiation Safety Committee Chair, Committee members and the Radiation Safety Officer. The Committee is composed of representative faculty members at CVM with a working knowledge of radiation safety practices, who are actively engaged in teaching and/or research endeavors or are involved in university related matters involving radiation use. Permanent, ex officio Committee members include the Radiation Safety Officer, the Associate Radiation Safety Officer and the CVM Hospital Administrator.

Copies of the minutes will be available for review by interested parties and official copies will be maintained by the Radiation Safety Office.

The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Program is mandated under the federal Clean Water Act and delegated to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality for implementation. As an owner of an MS4, NC State University is required to hold an NPDES MS4 permit. This permit requires the university to hold both responsibility and liability under NPDES Stormwater Permit NCS000376.

The Executive Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration is the university’s executive officer who has ultimate responsibility for implementation, compliance and enforcement of the university’s NPDES Stormwater Permit and associated Stormwater Management Program. The SMAC is the university’s leadership compliance team in charge of development, implementation and compliance with the permitted Stormwater Management Program.

The SMAC shall consist of a minimum of five (5) members who represent the primary organizations (Facilities, Real Estate & Development and Environmental Health & Safety) affected by the Stormwater Management Program. Environmental Health & Safety is responsible for the administration, management and oversight of the permit. University stakeholders and component organizations affected by the implementation of the permit shall develop and implement procedures, practices and programs to ensure compliance with the permit.

The Committee Chair shall be responsible for planning and scheduling SMAC meetings, preparing and distributing meeting and informational materials, facilitating SMAC meetings, involving all members in decision making and preparing meeting summaries. In the event that the appointed Chair is unable to perform the duties, an Interim Committee Chair will be appointed from current membership. Members of the SMAC are expected to attend all scheduled SMAC meetings or provide a proxy to participate on their behalf. Meetings shall occur at least once per quarter, and may be scheduled more frequently on an as-needed basis. A summary of each meeting shall be compiled and sent to the SMAC members for review and comment prior to finalization.

The duties of the SMAC members shall also include:

• Evaluating the performance and effectiveness of the program components at least annually. Results shall be used to modify the program components as necessary to accomplish the intent of the Stormwater Program;
• Reviewing agreements with entities operating on behalf of the university to confirm that the entity has agreed to implement part of the program on the university’s behalf and that all required documentation will be submitted to the university for documentation and reporting purposes;
• Creating written programs to assure compliance with part 2.2.2 of the MS4 Permit. Written programs shall be reviewed on an annual basis and modified if needed to best outline the program and needs of the university;
• Evaluating the funding and staffing status of the program to confirm that the program is meeting permit requirements;
• Overseeing the implementation and compliance of the Stormwater Management Program.