Principal Investigator’s Assurance
I am being funded by the ***United States Department of Defense (DOD) and my DOD project manager has asked me to provide a Principal Investigator’s Assurance. How can the UT Southwestern Department of Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) help me with this document?
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***also United States Army Medical Research and Materiel Command; USAMRMC
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The Principal Investigator’s Assurance form can be obtained at https://mrmc-www.army.mil/ (If a security message stops a link from opening, copy and paste the URL to the URL address box. Note that the DOD website does not allow direct linkage to the Principal Investigator Assurance document so a search from the homepage is required.)
In addition to the Principal Investigator’s Assurance, the DOD will have required you to provide a Certificate of Environmental Compliance (CEC) signed by the Facility Safety Director. The EH&S CEC-release process you went through to obtain a signed CEC, along with standard operating procedures at UT Southwestern, validate many of the statements on the Principal Investigator’s Assurance:
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I assure that I have involved the Facility Safety Director/Manager in the planning of this research proposal, discussed with him/her all aspects of the proposal that relate to occupational health and safety, and will help him/her prepare the annual Facility Safety Plan Status Report.
The back and forth emails between EH&S and Principal Investigators, the opportunity stated in the boiler plate email that Principal Investigators can request additional consultation with Dr. Lopez and/or EH&S staff, any consultations that occur, the questions answered by the Principal Investigators, and the review of the proposal by EH&S staff satisfy this condition.
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I assure that I will help prepare the Facility Safety Plan.
The boiler plate email of the CEC-release process advises the Principal Investigator that he/she can require EH&S to update the Facility Safety Plan to better serve the needs of campus safety and protection of the community. This opportunity for the Principal Investigator to review and require specific revision of the Facility Safety Plan satisfies this condition.
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I assure that I will comply with my institution’s safety program and its requirements.
Standard operating procedures and training at UT Southwestern intend that all personnel are knowledgeable of safety requirements and routinely comply with those requirements. Additionally, the DOD boiler plate email indicates the availability of the UT Southwestern Facility Safety Plan for review by the Principal Investigator. If you are unsure that you know what safety program requirements you must comply with, please contact EH&S for assistance (Contacts for Assistance).
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I understand that I am directly responsible for all aspects of safety and occupational health specific to my research protocol.
This statement of Principal Investigator responsibility is supported by UT Southwestern Policies and UT System Policies.
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I assure that I will report to the Facility Safety Director/Manager any changes in the safety or occupational health practices due to changes in my originally planned research.
EH&S makes great efforts to keep up with changes on campus, but also relies on Principal Investigators to report changes as needed.
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I assure that hazards associated with my research have been identified, eliminated and/or controlled.
EH&S assists with the identification and elimination or control of hazards as part of standard practices campus-wide and during the CEC-release process. EH&S also expects the Principal Investigator to stay alert for new hazards or previously unidentified hazards that might occur.
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I assure that all Safety Plan requirements are in compliance with “Biological Defense Safety Program and Biological Defense Safety Program, Technical Safety Requirements,” Army Regulation 385-69 (AR 385-69) (Current Edition) (if applicable).
The CEC-release process often results in a requirement by EH&S for the Principal Investigator to file a relevant Safety Plan with EH&S. The Biological/Chemical Safety Advisory Committee and the Institutional BioSafety Committee require filing of relevant Safety Plans with EH&S and approval of those Safety Plans by the relevant committee before commencement of work on campus. Tight controls for work with hazardous biologicals meet or exceed all regulatory requirements of the DOD, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HSH), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Texas Department of State Health Services (TxDSHS), the Dallas County Health Department, etc.
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