Title
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Standard on Disposal of Rodent Carcasses
Introduction
Purpose
The standards and procedures described below provide guidance to all researchers and animal handlers for safely disposing of rodent carcasses across research animal facilities at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill).
Scope of Applicability
This Standard applies to all personnel engaged in the euthanasia of laboratory rodents and/or disposal of carcasses. The standards described in this document apply to the euthanasia and carcass disposal of all laboratory rodents.
Animals, carcasses, and other items identifiable to the public as animal research related materials must remain covered at all times when not inside an animal housing facility or laboratory designated for animal work.
It is essential to follow these procedures to ensure that animals are humanely euthanized, and that personnel coming into contact with rodent carcasses are not exposed to chemical, radioactive, or biological hazards.
The UNC-Chapel Hill Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) expects that anyone involved in animal work at UNC-Chapel Hill will comply with this Standard. Requests for exceptions to this Standard must be reviewed and approved by the IACUC.
Standard
Research personnel MUST remove all animals, dead or alive, from the cage before leaving the cage in Division of Comparative Medicine (DCM) for autoclave or cage wash processing.
It is essential to euthanize all animals properly. Research personnel MUST ensure death before placing animal carcass(es) in the designated carcass containers, located in designated carcass refrigerators/freezers within DCM facilities.
- Empty cages must be returned to DCM promptly, following their removal from the DCM facility. Cages (including empty cages) must remain covered while outside the animal facility or lab space (including hallways, during transport, etc.). Please see complete DCM Orientation Packet for full instructions when transporting animals and caging within and between DCM animal facilities.
- Following euthanasia (injectable or inhalational) and before disposal, ensure death by performing an approved secondary method. Approved secondary methods include 1) major organ harvest, 2) thoracotomy, 3) cervical dislocation, and 4) decapitation. See IACUC's Standard on Rodent Euthanasia for exceptions to secondary physical method requirement.
- Place the carcass(es) in a non-PVC containing, sealable, transparent plastic bag. These plastic bags are supplied by DCM and are located in the CO2 chamber area and supply carts.
- Label the bag with the application identification (protocol) number only. Seal the bag securely. Place the bag with the carcass(es) into the DCM carcass container (ex: Stericycle box) located within designated carcass refrigerators/freezers in each building. (Note: carcasses from DCM diagnostic testing will be labeled ‘DCM necropsy’, and carcasses euthanized via the Euthanex Smartbox System will be labelled ‘ESB’.)
- All carcasses are incinerated unless they require special handling procedures as defined by UNC-Chapel Hill Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) on the IACUC hazard forms.
- Animals containing some radioactive agents or chemical agents that are classified as hazardous waste must be stored according to EHS recommendations. EHS will retrieve and dispose of these carcasses as defined on the IACUC hazard forms.
Exceptions
Requests for exceptions to this Standard must be reviewed and approved by the IACUC.
References:
IACUC approved Standards:
Definitions
Carcass: The body of a dead animal.
Euthanasia: The act of inducing humane death in an animal with minimal pain and distress.
Related Requirements
External Regulations and Consequences
Failure to comply with this standard may result in a report filed by UNC-Chapel Hill to the National Institutes of Health's Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) and possible sanctions on the investigator.
University Policies, Standards, and Procedures
For more detailed guidance, please refer to the UNC-Chapel Hill Policy on the Care and Use of Vertebrate Animals for Research, Training and Teaching Purposes.
Contact Information
Contact Information
Subject |
Contact |
Telephone |
Biosecurity Hazardous agents
|
Environment, Health and Safety (EHS)
|
919-962-5507
|
Animal Health and Husbandry
|
Division of Comparative Medicine (DCM)
|
919-962-5335
|
Important Dates
Effective Date and title of Approver: 9/25/02; UNC-Chapel Hill IACUC
Revision and Review Dates, Change notes, title of Reviewer or Approver: February 29, 2004; September 14, 2007; August 5, 2010, June 2013, June 2017, November 2017, May 2019 – Replaced DCM references to reflect the new department name DCM; 7/12/2022.
Approved by: UNC-Chapel Hill IACUC