Eastern Michigan University Animal Welfare Contingency Plan

Eastern Michigan University

Animal Welfare Contingency Plan Rev.1.0 6/2013

This plan has been developed in accordance with the Animal Welfare Act guidelines for Contingency (Emergency) Planning. Effective 30 January, 2013, the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) regulations require all licensed and registered facilities to develop a contingency plan for emergencies so they can better protect their animals in disaster situations. Under the rule, APHIS gives facilities the flexibility to develop a plan that works best for them and their animals. This plan was developed by the EMU Emergency Management Office in cooperation with Dr. Kenneth Rusiniak, Chairperson, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.

Eastern Michigan University

Animal Welfare Contingency Plan Rev.1.0 6/2013

I.

Purpose
The purpose of this plan is to provide guidance to laboratory animal staff and animal users on procedures during emergencies and to assist laboratory animal staff and animal users in the avoidance and anticipation of dangerous situations.

II.

Scope
Emergencies, accidents and injuries can occur at any time. Being prepared is essential to minimizing the effects of emergency situations on the health and well-being of people and animals. All laboratory animal staff and animal users are strongly encouraged to be familiar with this plan. All personnel should be aware of their facility floor plan and evacuation routes.

III.

Assumptions
In the event that such an emergency did occur, EMU is prepared to do the following:

1) While it is the intent of the University to protect the animals from adverse conditions,
under no circumstances will personnel place themselves in personal danger at any time. Personnel safety is the primary concern in any emergency.

2) When an emergency occurs, key individuals will be contacted in the following order:
Principal Investigator; Back-up to the Primary Investigator, Chair of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) and the Building Administrator. Individual animal colony rooms are labeled with appropriate contact persons and their phone numbers in case of an emergency.

3) To reduce the risk of disruptions, EMU animal care facilities are kept locked at all
times, and access is limited to authorized personnel only.

4) In case of power failure, the temperature of the animal colony rooms will be
maintained by portable devices, if possible, or the animals will be transferred to other facilities on campus.

5) In case of fire, structure damage or other emergency, surviving animals will be

transferred to other campus facilities.

6) Weather-related events can lead to direct damage of the animal housing facilities or
prevent access to them. In the case of the former, animals will be transferred to one of the other campus facilities; in the case of the latter, individuals who live close to the facility will be asked to check on the facility and provide appropriate care for the animals, if possible.

7) If animals have been injured as a result of a disaster, the Principal Investigator will
be consulted to consider an appropriate course of action and will have the authority to euthanize animals.

8) All animal care personnel, including students, will be informed of the individuals to
notify and temporary steps to take in the event of an emergency. 1

Eastern Michigan University

Animal Welfare Contingency Plan Rev.1.0 6/2013

IV.

Situation
In all emergencies, human life and safety will take precedence over animal life. The laboratory animal staff or animal users must not put themselves or their colleagues in danger in order to evacuate animals. The lab animal staff will work together with the IACUC Chair to determine appropriate actions based on the individual emergency situation. In the event of a large scale disaster, euthanasia of animals may be necessary. Euthanasia will be a last resort and will be conducted under the direction of the principal investigator or the IACUC Chair. Animal care and research is conducted at the following locations: Mark Jefferson Science Complex Animals utilized by the Department of Psychology are housed on the 6th floor. Terrestrial & Aquatic Ecology Research Facility (TAERF) Animals Utilized by the Department of Biology

The facilities house mice, rats, amphibians, reptiles and arachnids. The types of animal colonies housed and the population of the colonies varies with research and teaching activities. Mark-Jefferson Science Complex The Mark Jefferson Science Complex contains 180,000 square feet of space divided among five stories plus a penthouse (6th floor animal colonies) and basement. It is constructed of poured-in-place concrete with exterior walls of face brick with stone trim. The Mark Jefferson building is fully-sprinklered. The animal holding rooms have dedicated supply and exhaust units. Air handling equipment is located in the penthouse, and exhaust fans are located on the roof. The system maintains a negative pressure relationship with respect to adjacent non-animal areas. Two exhaust fans, each sized for 100% of the load, providing 100% redundancy, and two air handling units, each sized for the entire load providing 100% redundancy. Each air handling unit is sized for 12,000 CFM, and supplies 100% outdoor air. Each unit includes 95% efficient filtration, heat pipe energy recovery equipment to capture exhaust air energy to pre-condition the incoming outdoor air stream, hot water heating coils, chilled water cooling coils, a plenum supply fan, and a duct mounted clean steam humidifier. Animal holding areas are provided with Phoenix type variable air volume laboratory airflow controls. Each animal room has the ability of being maintained at a negative or positive pressure with respect to adjacent areas, through a local pressurization switch. Exhaust air from the animal holding or procedure rooms have exhaust grilles at a low level in the room, and include a filter frame and a particulate type air filter. Animal holding and procedure rooms have a differential pressure gauge to visually monitor the room pressure relationship. Each room has a separate temperature control zone. 2

Eastern Michigan University

Animal Welfare Contingency Plan Rev.1.0 6/2013

Terrestrial & Aquatic Ecology Research Facility The Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Research Facility (TAERF) is a state-of-theart 1,158 square foot laboratory/greenhouse building comprised of three separate rooms in which the climates can be controlled. The TAERF contains two laboratories, one dedicated to terrestrial ecology research, and the other set up for aquatic research. The aquatic room has three rows of aquariums in which the temperature and aquatic environment can be individually controlled.. In addition to the laboratories is a greenhouse, which is used to grow plants for ecology research projects.

V.

Tasks & Responsibilities

Animal care and use at Eastern Michigan University is regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture, Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare, and U.S. Government Principles for the Utilization and Care of Vertebrate animals Used in Testing, Research, and Training. An emergency is any adverse event such as a fire, tornado, chemical spill, civil disturbance, electrical or water outage, or equipment failure which causes or has the potential to cause injury to the animals. In the event of a major emergency, protective actions such as evacuation or sheltering in place may be necessary. The type of emergency and its location will dictate what actions will be undertaken. All staff who are involved with the emergency procedures should avoid panic and assist in implementing the protective actions ordered. Appropriate steps will be taken to prevent the occurrence of emergency situations when possible. These steps include, but are not limited to: maintaining building security and allowing access to authorized individuals only minimizing chemical hazards through proper storage and handling of chemicals minimizing fire hazards by maintaining compliance with safety procedures reporting equipment malfunctions and other safety concerns to responsible individuals In the event of an emergency or disaster that threatens the well-being of animals housed on the 6th floor of the Mark-Jefferson Science Complex or in the Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Research Facility, the principal investigator and the IACUC Chair will be notified first to determine the necessary actions to be taken. In the event that the principal investigator or IACUC Chair is unavailable, other individuals trained in the care and use of the animals will be contacted (e.g., other psychology and biology faculty/researchers). These latter individuals will be authorized to take appropriate actions, including euthanasia, if the principal investigator and IACUC Chair are unavailable.

Eastern Michigan University

Animal Welfare Contingency Plan Rev.1.0 6/2013

When possible, temporary measures will be taken to maintain the appropriate temperature, humidity, ventilation, and lighting until normal operations are restored. In the event that such measures are impossible or impractical, then arrangements will be made to transport the rats to another campus facility. In the event that other campus facilities are unavailable and temporary measures cannot be taken to maintain an adequate environment, then the animals will be euthanized according to approved protocol procedures. Under no circumstances will animals be allowed to survive in conditions likely to produce severe or prolonged distress or pain. Principal investigators will be responsible for implementing this plan with regard to their projects and courses, training personnel under their supervision, and notifying the IACUC Chair in the event an emergency occurs. All animal care personnel, including students, will be informed of the individuals to notify and temporary steps to take in the event of an emergency and will be responsible for implementing this plan as assigned. All responsible personnel will receive a copy of this plan and training to assure understanding of the procedures to be employed in the event of an emergency. All relevant telephone numbers will be posted in the facility. While it is the intent of this plan to protect the animals from adverse conditions, under no circumstances should individuals place themselves in personal danger at any time. Human safety is the primary concern in any emergency. 1. Special situations Emergency during a surgical procedure - Personnel safety should be assured first. If the procedure cannot be completed in a manner that assures patient recovery, the animal should be humanely euthanized. In the event that evacuation of the animals from the facility is necessary, this will be done only to the extent that it does not endanger personnel and a suitable alternate location is available. In the event that animals are injured, they will receive medical care under the direction of trained personnel. If the emergency precludes adequate medical care of seriously injured animals, they should be humanely euthanized. 2. Mass euthanasia of research and/or teaching animals If it becomes necessary to euthanize colonies, trained personnel will accomplish this. CO2 or inhalant anesthetic euthanasia of rodents will be utilized if possible.

Attachment 1 Emergency Contacts

During any emergency, immediately dial 9-1-1 from any campus telephone or 734.487.1222 from a cell phone. Department Name Phone EMU Institutional Animal Kenneth Rusiniak 734-487-1155 Care and Use Committee MJ Science Complex Steve Pernecky 734-487-0106 Building Administrator TAERF Building 734-487Administrator EMU Public Safety Dispatch 734-487-1222 or 911 Environmental Health & Kathryn Wilhoff 734-487-7094 Safety Emergency Management Mark Wesley 734-487-0799 Emergency Situations should be communicated to the Physical Plant at 734-487-3380 during normal business hours Physical Plant Bilal Sarsour (8:00am-5:00pm MondayFriday) or Public Safety for after hours and weekend calls at 7-1222. Lock Emergencies Kevin Abbasse 734-487-1000 University Health Services Ellen Gold 734-487-1122 St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Closest Urgent Care Facility 5301 McAuley Drive 734-712-3456 Ypsilanti, MI 48197

Attachment 2 Mark Jefferson Science Complex 6th Floor Room Layout

Attachment 3 Terrestrial & Aquatic Ecology Research Facility (TAERF) Layout

Aquatic Research

Aquatic Research

Greenhouse Research

Plant Nursery

Greenhouse Research

Attachment 5 Emergency Response Procedures** Fire

University policy requires that all building occupants must evacuate the building in the event of a fire. In the event a fire alarm or an actual fire occurs, the following actions should take place: 1. Staff that initially discovers the fire, explosion or smoke will activate the fire alarm and notify nearby occupants of the possible danger. If unable to locate a pull station, the employee will dial 911 from a campus phone or 734.487.1222 from a cell phone. 2. Do not attempt to extinguish a fire or clean up a chemical spill unless you have received proper training in these procedures. 3. When the emergency alarm is heard, personnel should not continue with any ongoing or planned animal procedure. 4. Steps can be taken to secure the animal in a cage, box or locked area, IF THIS CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED IN A MATTER OF 1-2 MINUTES. Personnel not needed for these steps should begin their evacuation procedures immediately. 5. Personnel attending to vital animal needs must do so expeditiously, and must secure any infectious agents being used, and either secure the animal by returning them to their home caging or into temporary housing for safe holding, or euthanize the animal if smoke or fire in the immediate area is confirmed. 6. Individuals shall exit quickly in a safe and orderly manner using appropriate evacuation routes. Do not use elevators. Exit the building using the nearest marked exit. 7. If possible and safe, all laboratory gases should be turned off and doors and windows closed upon exiting 8. Contact program personnel to notify them of the situation. 9. Once outside, evacuees should proceed to the assembly area for the building so as not to impede the movements of emergency response personnel. 10. Do not return to the evacuated building unless directed by Campus Police or other emergency response personnel. 11. Once authorized to return to a building, animal research personnel are to return to their animals and are to attend to their care.

** This plan reference emergency situations and steps related to the animal care facilities for certain incidents. The full University Emergency Response Procedure is available at: http://www.emich.edu/publicsafety/emo/procedures/index.php

Attachment 5 Emergency Response Procedures** Evacuation

Evacuation means moving from a threatened area to a safer place. In cases requiring the evacuation of one building, occupants should proceed to a designated meeting area. Any evacuation decision must take into consideration the hazards presented and other factors such as traffic, health issues, and in the case of large facilities, it may prevent first responders from reaching the scene. Evacuation may be accomplished in several ways: Total evacuation, partial evacuation (of affected areas), or a phased evacuation (for large or complex facilities). When orders are given to evacuate multiple buildings or large areas of the campus, occupants should proceed to the evacuation area as directed by the Department of Public Safety (DPS). Animals should only be evacuated or relocated if there is an immediate and significant threat to their well-being. And doing so does not jeopardize the safety of individuals. If the problem is confined to one room, animals may be moved to an adjacent animal housing room or to another available room within the Science Complex if the incident is of short duration and the room is adequate for the animals short term needs. If the problem involves more than one room or the entire animal colony floor of the Science Complex, the principal investigator and the IACUC Chair are to be notified of the situation as well as the Emergency Management Director. If the evacuation is for a long-term situation, an ad hoc emergency response team of University officials representing the IACUC, Physical Plant, Public Safety, and Environmental Health & Safety will meet to plan for and to respond to the emergency situation. The team is convened by the IACUC Chair and the Emergency Management Director.

Shelter-in-Place
Generally, shelter in place means simply staying indoors and in a safe place to await further instructions. During extreme circumstances, sheltering in place could also include additional precautions, such as turning off fans, air conditioning, and forced air heating systems, to reduce any potential for air contamination in the event of a chemical release. During Shelter-in-Place, animals will remain in primary enclosures during an emergency and employees will be assigned to provide animal care as needed. This care includes: husbandry and care needs for the animals (e.g. food and water) environmental conditions (e.g. temperature, ventilation, lighting) records maintenance

Attachment 5 Emergency Response Procedures** Hazardous Materials Spill

1. Chemical spills greater than one gallon, one pound or any quantity of highly toxic substance: Evacuate the immediate area. Close all doors leading into the spill area. Assist contaminated persons to a safety shower or eyewash station. Report the spill immediately to your supervisor and to Environmental Health and Safety 734.487.0794. Post signs (if possible) to keep others out. 2. Incidental spills in which there is no fire hazard, involves low to moderately toxic materials in small amounts which can be absorbed, neutralized, contained or otherwise controlled by employees in the immediate area: Assess the hazard Wear appropriate Personal Protection Equipment. At minimum, this requires gloves, lab coat and safety glasses/goggles. Neutralize strong acids and bases. Contain the spill with appropriate spill clean-up kit. Clean up spill with approved clean-up kit. Temporarily place contaminated clean-up materials in a fume hood or in a 5 gallon bucket. All chemical spill clean-up material must be disposed of a hazardous waste. The person responsible for the clean-up must write a brief report describing how the spill occurred and the clean-up procedures used. A copy must be given to their supervisor and Environmental Health and Safety.

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Attachment 5 Emergency Response Procedures** Power Outages - Building Automation Systems and HVAC Failure
1. Verify all researchers, students and staff are trained on acceptable temperature ranges, reporting environmental fluctuations, and appropriate response procedures. 2. Maintain list or location map of breakers, emergency power outlet locations, and equipment and animal housing that may be impacted by power loss. 3. Determine number of portable chillers and heaters required to maintain animal room temperatures during an HVAC emergency event. 4. Identify critical rooms and ensure that they remain locked or unlocked (as appropriate) in the event of a system failure. Ensure that facility staff has keys or other methods to access locked doors in the event of a system failure. 5. Contact the IACUC Chair and inform that animal lives are at risk due to abnormal environmental conditions. 6. Manually check room temperature and humidity. 7. Check to see if the failure/fluctuation may be due to a scheduled utility shutdown. 8. If animal room temperature is elevated to a critical temperature (i.e. animal lives are at risk), use portable fans, use portable chillers, &/or open doors. 9. If animal room temperature falls to a critical temperature (i.e. animal lives are at risk), place portable space heaters in the room. 10. Once normal power is restored or emergency generators are functioning: Make sure light switches and ventilated racks are on and operating. Check each animal room temperature and humidity. Re-establish all animal care programs.

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Attachment 5 Emergency Response Procedures** Animal Activism

Faculty, students and staff need to be alert to unauthorized persons attempting to gain access to the animal facilities . Activists sometimes claim to have a delivery or an appointment, or to have left their access card elsewhere, and may pretend to have the authority to gain access. Only authorized personnel are allowed to enter. The animal facilities are secure areas. 1. Do not place yourself or others at risk. Contact EMU Public Safety at 734-487-1222 immediately if the following situation occur: If you learn of animal activists targeting the University If a break-in or other illegal activity is in progress If you notice suspicious activity If you arrive during a disturbance outside the building, leave the area at once. 2. Do not confront the individual(s). 3. EMU Public Safety will provide safety escorts on campus upon request: 734-487-1222.

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Attachment 6 Cage & Rack Washer Safety Features

The cage and rack washer system utilizes 250 gallons of water per minute pumped into the washer at 3 bar (45 PSI) pressure. Safety features include panic-proof self-deflating door gaskets, large observation windows, safety switches on doors and self-cleaning filter, warning lights and acoustic alarms, chamber overpressure air vent, certified IP55 rating of the electrical box and a Siemens microprocessor with a password protected touch-screen for operator interface. Safety features also include clearly marked external emergency stop buttons at both load and unload sides as well as easy-to-grasp, wide red emergency bars on the inside.

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Attachment 7 References Animal Welfare Act Regulations (USDA) Health Research Extension Act (NIH) Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (PHS) US Government Principles for the Utilization and Care of Vertebrate Animals Used in Testing, Research, and Training Office of Laboratory Welfare (OLAW) website: http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/olaw Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (ILAR/NAS) Guidelines for the Care and Use of Fish in Research (ILAR) Guidelines for the Care of Amphibians and Reptiles in Academic Institutions (ILAR)

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