Regulation 6 of the Regulations for Hazardous Biological Agents, 2022 sets out what a biological agents risk assessment must cover. Here is every item it names, who may carry it out, when it must be reviewed and what its results trigger, with a quick self-check.

A surface swab shows which target micro-organisms were recovered from a surface when it was taken, and no more. What swabs can and cannot tell you, when they help, how samples are taken, and how they fit the HBA Regulations, 2022.

The Regulations for Hazardous Biological Agents, 2022 reach well beyond laboratories. Here is the scope test in regulation 2, what the four risk groups mean, and the duties that apply once your workplace is in scope.