General Policy

The Department endorses a strong Health and Safety policy and works closely with the relevant University Office (Area Ambiente e Sicurezza) in order to ensure that rulesat work  are followed and tasks are met. The staff of Area Ambiente e Sicurezza maintain a dedicate website  (Nuovo sito Sicurezza Salute Ambiente) that provides extensive  information about the legal requirements to be enforced by the University and its Departments in the area of Health and Safety as well as useful technical notes.

Five Units of the Department (Biochemistry, Physiology, Human Genetics, Pathology and Immunology and General Pathology) are housed in University buildings and the University and the Department are directly responsible for the implelentation of Health & Safety in such Units. Three clinical Units of the Department however (Clinical Biochemistry, Cardiology and Haematology) are embedded and operate in several host Institutions in Pavia and elsewhere and the latter provide and monitor Health & Safety for the University personnel active therein in line with official agreements in place between the University and the external health care providers.

The five Units of the Department that operate in University premises all have a Health & Safety officer and one or more first aiders. These are listed below together with their email and telephone contacts. In addition, the University operates a 24/7 emergency service when immediate action is needed and any member of the Department can call upon this service by contacting the numbers provided on the web page Telefoni utili per l’ Emergenza.

Procedures

The work carried out in the Department involves three categories of procedures that impact on Health and Safety legislation, namely Genetic Manipulation, work with radioisotopes (Radiation Safety) and work with small animals such as zebrafish, mice and rats (Animal Safety). The rules governing the work of the Department in these areas is outlined below.

Genetic Manipulation. The majority of the laboratories present in the Department carry out work classified as genetic manipulation. The document Genetic Manipulation Procedures in the Department of Molecular Medicine describes outline procedures of this work and the relevant containment level as well as the name and contact of the Departmental Genetic Manipulation Officer. All genetic manipulation work needs to be described in a Genetic Manipulation Project Form that needs to be downloaded and completed by the scientist in charge of the project and the Head of Laboratory in which the work is carried out. Completed forms need to be submitted to the Departmental Genetic Manipulation Officer and to the Head of Department.

Radiation Safety. The Department has a licence for work with the following isotopes: 3H, 14C, 32P, 33P, 35S and 125I in a single Departmental Facility for Work with Radioisotopes on the ground floor of  the Unit of Biochemistry (3, via Taramelli). The procedures for work with radioisotopes are outlined in the document Working with Radioisotopes in the Department of Molecular Medicine that includes the name and contacts of the Departmental Radiation Safety Officer and additional infromation about the steps that need to be taken by any member wishing to consider the use of radioisotopes as part of his/her experimental projects, including instructions and training. Further advice and information can be obtained, via the Departmental Radiation Safety Officer, from Tiziana Chiara, University Radiation Safety Officer and from Dante Milani, an external consultant advising the University on matters of radiation safety.

Animal Safety. Several laboratories within the Department have projects involving the use of animals. The procedures for work with animals are outlined in the document Working with Animals in the Department of Molecular Medicine that outlines the main steps and the timeframe involved in preparing a project involving the use of animals. There is a Departmental Animal Facility on the second floor of the Unit of Physiology (6, via C Forlanini). The facility has been used for long term housing and breeding in the past and is currently being converted into a procedure room while animal housing, breeding etc confined to the central animal facility located in the basement of the Golgi/Spallanzani building (9, via A Ferrata). The list of projects for which the Department currently hold records are:  bottinelli_2016, rossi_2016.