Lab worker wearing lab coat, safety goggles and using a pipette on a blue green background.

Back to the Lab: Academic Exposure Insights

Historically, reported exposure incidents involving human pathogens and toxins in the academic sector tend to increase in February and October. While the reasons for these seasonal patterns are not clear, the trends provide an opportunity to reinforce awareness of common exposure risks and available biosafety resources.

Within the academic sector from 2015 to 2026, students (n=131; 48.9%) were most frequently implicated in exposure incidents, followed by technicians/technologists (n=67; 25.0%). Among students, 39.7% were exposed through contact with skin, followed by 34.4% who were exposed through inoculation/injection by needle/sharps.

Students were most often exposed while conducting the following activities:

  • microbiology work (42.0%)
  • in vivo animal research (16.8%)
  • education/training activities (16.0%)

They were most frequently involved in spill-related (33.9%) or sharps-related incidents (28.1%). The root causes of these incidents were primarily linked to:

  • human factors (26.5%)
  • standard operating procedures (16.9%)
  • training (16.9%)

These trends highlight key risks for students working with pathogens and toxins in the academic sector and also point to areas that could be strengthened to reduce the risk of exposure.

Biosafety in practice following a reported incident: A real-world scenario

What happened?

During a microbiology activity in an academic laboratory, a student was exposed to a broth containing a Risk Group 2 pathogen after a spill occurred while using a vortex mixer. This spill resulted in contamination of the student's hands and face, the vortex and several tubes. The incident was reported to the Public Health Agency of Canada without delay, and a follow-up report was submitted within the required timeframe confirming root causes, mitigation plans and results of investigation.

What contributed to the incident?

The investigation identified human and equipment-related factors as contributing root causes, with the incident attributed to operator error during vortex use.

What happened next?

The student did not develop any illness and immediate first aid measures were taken, including hand and face washing and disinfection of the affected materials.

What changed?

Corrective actions included:

  • reducing the vortex speed
  • reinforcing laboratory procedures and safety communications
  • increasing supervisory oversight during laboratory activities

What can we take from this?

This incident highlights how equipment use, training, procedures and supervision can interact to create exposure risks, particularly for students who may be developing their laboratory skills.

Remember that reporting exposure incidents to the Public Health Agency of Canada is mandatory under section 13 of the Human Pathogens and Toxins Act along with submitting a follow-up report under 4.8.12 of the Canadian Biosafety Standard, Third Edition. Failure to report an exposure incident is an offence and may lead to enforcement actions. As per the amended Human Pathogens and Toxins Act on March 26, 2026, the threshold of incident reporting is lowered to “reasonable grounds to suspect” from “reason to believe”.

A range of resources are available on the PHAC Training Portal to support student onboarding, including:

For questions about exposure incidents, contact biosafety.biosecurite@phac-aspc.gc.ca.