Select Agents and Toxins Program
Select Agents and Toxins are biological agents and toxins that have the potential to pose a severe threat to public health and safety, to animal health, or to animal products. Select Agents and Toxins are regulated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) via the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service.
The USDA Federal Select Agent Program includes Select Agents and Toxins List.
University Select Agents and Toxins Policy
To work with Select Agents or regulated quantities of Select Toxins, contact Biological Safety.
Possession of Permissible Quantities of Select Toxins
University policy requires all toxins on the Select Agents and Toxins List to be registered with the Institutional Biosafety Committee. Certain threshold limits are allowed under the regulations without full registration with the CDC
Threshold Limits
| HHS Toxins [§73.3(d)(7) | Amount |
| Abrin | 1000 mg |
| Botulinum neurotoxins | 1 mg |
| Short, paralytic alpha conotoxins | 100 mg |
| Diacetoxyscirpenol (DAS) | 10,000 mg |
| Ricin | 1000 mg |
| Saxitoxin | 500 mg |
| Staphylococcal Enterotoxins (Subtypes A, B, C, D, and E) | 100 mg |
| T-2 toxin | 10,000 mg |
| Tetrodotoxin | 500 mg |
CDC Permissiable Toxin Amounts - Updated September 10, 2020
For details on the requirements to use non-regulated amounts of Select Toxins, refer to Appendix C in the University Select Agents Policy.