Instruction for Bio Safety Registration

Definition of substances, biological agents and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) at DESY

Note: Not only bio-agents and GMOs must be declared, but also samples that are likely to contain them (e.g. infected plants and tissues that are not inactivated).

General Advice
If you activate the checkbox for “Use of biological agents (at beamline or in BSL-2 bio laboratory)” it opens the Bio Safety Registration. Make sure you mention ALL biological agents and GMOs that you will be measuring at the beamline/experiment and/or prepare in the laboratory at least 4 WEEKS in advance.

Follow the scheme:
Substances to be used at the beamline/experiment (except for biological agents and GMOs)
> Declaration of Substances

Substances to be used in the laboratory
> Bio Safety Registration

Biological agents and GMOs to be used in the laboratory and/or at the experiment
> Bio Safety Registration
For the registration of an inactivated biological agent/GMO as a substance please also add a short remark on the inactivation process in the “remark-field” in the Declaration of Substances (e.g. substance name: C2C12 cells (inactivated), Remarks: inactivated with __(chemical) for __min at __°C). If you are using tissue, please also consider the penetration velocity in relation to the sample size. When doing so, we can directly verify the new substances without further problems.

For the registration of a biological agent/GMO submit the following details for EACH agent:

Name of agent

The SDS, a certificate or short description of production (template can be downloaded during the registration process)

Risk Group following the technical rules for biological agents TRBA 100 and TRBA 460-466 and GenTSV annex 1; also, the ZKBS provides reliable classifications for many organisms.

Note: On the DESY campus, only work with biological agents of RG1 and 2 is currently permitted in laboratories of the corresponding biosafety level.

Biological agents/GMOs of RG 1 (e.g. baker's yeast, E. coli, bacteria of the skin flora) are unlikely to cause disease.

Biological agents/GMOs of RG 2 (e.g. herpes, hepatitis A, influenza A 2009 (H1N1)) can cause disease in humans and could pose a risk to employees, spread in the population is unlikely, prophylaxis and/or treatment is usually possible.

For the registration of a GMO submit additional details on:

The biosafety project number of YOUR genetic engineering facility/laboratory (Aktenzeichen der Gentechnischen Anlage); please ask the project leader for biosafety of your institute for support

Name of the project leader for biosafety of your institute

Name of your institute

If applicable, the name of the genetic insert/construct/vector

If applicable, the vector map

The bio-laboratory L045 at PETRA III (047c) and all experimental hutches are classified as BSL-2 for handling biological agents and GMOs of RG2. If you transfer your samples from the lab to an experimental hutch remind that you are obligated to transport and measure S2 samples only in a sealed container. Modification and manipulation are only allowed within the BSL-2 laboratory AFTER the on-site instruction following the German genetic engineering law and the genetic engineering safety ordinance (GenTG/GenTSV).

For further questions please do not hesitate to contact us on
photon-science.safety-managers@desy.de