Laboratory Ramp Down – Closure Checklist

The following checklist has been completed to ensure measures have been taken to mitigate hazards and reduce risk during periods of closure.

Laboratory Building Location and Room Number(s)	Click or tap here to enter text.
Name(s) of Responsible Person(s) of Room(s)	Click or tap here to enter text.
Checklist Completed by:	Click or tap here to enter text.
Date Completed:	Click or tap to enter a date.

ITEM	COMPLETE	NOTES
YES	NA
All Laboratories
Non critical activities have been suspended, ramped down or delayed	☐ Please Indicate	☐	☐ Suspended ☐ Ramped Down ☐ Delayed
The Planning and Business Officer and/or Dean has been contacted to discuss being identified as an essential service if needed	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
The Planning and Business Officer and/or Dean is aware of my laboratory activities being ramped down	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Concerns regarding how an extended ramp down period will affect your lab has been relayed to the Planning and Business Officer and/or Dean (e.g. sensitive equipment, animal care, scheduled maintenance, etc.)	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Laboratory Contact Information
Communication regarding the lab ramp down has been sent to Lab Personnel (Students and/or Researchers)	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Primary and backup personnel are identified, trained and able to safely perform essential activities that have been identified within pandemic plans	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
If any essential services will be ongoing in your laboratory: the primary and backup personnel contact information has been made available to appropriate persons	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Emergency personnel contact list is current and posted as appropriate (lab doors, etc.) in the event the responsible person must be contacted	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Shipping & Receiving Materials
Incoming orders have been managed and suspended as necessary	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Plan in place to manage the receipt of pending orders with items needing freezer storage or other special considerations (dry ice, LN2, compressed gas etc.)	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Laboratory Materials
Review of any hazardous waste is completed and appropriately managed	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Consolidation of perishable items within storage units has been actioned with backup systems considered as appropriate	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Hazardous materials are properly stored	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
All items/chemicals are properly labelled (no unlabelled containers)	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
All chemicals and glassware are removed from countertops and stored appropriately	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Inventory of controlled substances, radioactive sources and biological agents has been confirmed and documented	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Controlled substances are securely stored in accordance to regulations	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Store securely physical and other hazards such as sharps	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Equipment
Compressed gas tanks are properly secured and disconnected from equipment where possible. Regulators are removed and cylinders are capped	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Sensitive equipment has been unplugged where possible or placed in a safe state	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Refrigerator, freezer and incubator doors are properly shut closed	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Remote monitors for refrigerators, freezers and incubators are functioning	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Fume hoods: clear of all chemicals or other hazards proper airflow is allowed and sash is shut	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Arrangements have been made for equipment requiring ongoing maintenance and service for essential activities (maintenance of analytical instrumentation etc.)	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Decontamination
Decontaminate/sanitize areas of the lab as would routinely be done	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Decontaminate/sanitize any reusable materials as appropriate	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Biosafety Laboratory Specific
Secure biological materials according to the biosafety manual	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Biological material is frozen down for long term storage where appropriate	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Biosafety cabinets: surface areas are decontaminated, sash is closed, and if possible powered down. Do NOT leave UV lights on.	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Decontaminate all biological waste and contaminated items (including aspirator flasks). If autoclave is required and not available, contaminated waste is stored in a secured secondary container.	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Radiation/X-Ray/Laser Laboratory Specific
Contamination survey has been performed if there is a radiation safety permit for unsealed material	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Sensitive electrical equipment, lasers and X-Rays are shut down and unplugged	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
X-Rays and instruments with sealed sources are secured in a condition (e.g. turned off) so they cannot be used or accessed	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Radioactive materials are secured according to radiation safety manual	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Animal Research Lab Specific
Animal research shut down according to lab specific Standard Operating Procedures	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Lab specific Standard Operating Procedures for animal care and maintenance are followed and essential activities have been identified within pandemic plans	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Lab specific Standard Operating Procedures for shut down are filed with the Animal Care Committee	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
For any changes with animal use (for research or teaching) as a result of COVID-19 must submit the CCAC’s1 Animal Numbers Tracking Form, found here. The form must be reported immediately to ACC where any animals are: euthanized, transferred to a different protocol (e.g. holding protocol) and are will not be transferred back to the original protocol, and/or removed from the protocol through a transfer of ownership and will not be transferred back to the original protocol.	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Research Involving Human Participants
Data and files are accessible remotely while respecting privacy legislations, requirements of the TCPS 22 and data management plan as outlined in the REB application.	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Arrange installation of any specific computer applications required to complete work remotely.	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Determine if research protocols can: be modified or delayed to limit unnecessary personal contacts; reduce in-person participant interactions and replace with telephone or online communication; and postpones in-person study visits, focus groups, interviews, and/or conducted on-line/virtual format.	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.
Inform the REB of any changes that have been made to the protocol and revisions to the informed consent form that may impact a participant’s decision to continue with the research. This must be submitted to the REB through a change request application.	☐	☐	Click or tap here to enter text.

1 Canadian Council on Animal Care

2 Tri-Council Policy Statement 2

Please keep copy in your records and submit to Facilities and Health and Safety by clicking below:

For questions regarding the checklist please email healthandsafety@ontariotechu.ca

Version: 2.0	Prepared by:	University Operations Taskforce
Revision Date: December 4, 2020	Reviewed by:	1. Return to On-Campus Research Taskforce 2. Joint Health and Safety Committee