Laboratory

Safety Certificate
Biosafety
Considers infectious exposures
Principles and practices employed to protect
laboratory personnel and the environment from
exposure or infection while working with living
organisms, biological materials, or agents.

Included are any materials that may be potentially
infectious.
Includes recombinant DNA research

What is Biosafety?
Bacterial: 76% from clinical labs, 8% from
research labs
Exposure: 60% acquired from inhalation

Other exposures include:
digestion,
inoculation (i.e. sharps),
splashes,
direct and indirect contact

What not to do!


Laboratory Acquired Infections (LAI)
Need to Understand:
the biology of the agent
susceptibility and transmission within the
host
hazards associated with equipment and
procedures
Goal:
Provide the highest practical protection and
the lowest practical exposure
Biological Risk
Assigned Risk Groups for Biological Agents
RG-1 Unlikely to cause disease in humans or
animals
Low individual or community risk
RG-2 May cause disease but typically not serious
Individual risk, low community risk, treatable
RG-3 May cause serious disease, usually treatable
High individual but low community risk, serious respiratory agents
RG-4 Serious or fatal, often not treatable,
Easy transmission, high individual and community risk
World Health Organization -
WHO
Different concept than the Risk Groups!
Risk groups used in risk assessment
BSLs are used in risk management
BSL are ways to control the agent
facilities, safety equipment, practices, PPE, etc.
Once risk is assessed then the appropriate
BSL is determined
RG1 BSL 1 but does not always
correspond directly!
Biosafety Levels (BSL)
RG1: Well characterized, non-
pathogenic organisms or agents

Open bench- no containment

Use good laboratory practices, waste
disposal, and aseptic techniques

Example: E. coli
BioSafety Level 1
BioSafety Level 1 Facility Requirements
The laboratory must have a door.
A sink in the laboratory is required for washing
hands.
The work surfaces must be designed for easy
cleaning.
The work surfaces must be impervious to water.
The furniture must be sturdy to hold all specimens.
All windows must have insect screens.
BioSafety Level 1 Standard Practices
Minimize splashes and aerosols.
Work surfaces must be decontaminated daily.
All waste must be decontaminated autoclave.
Maintain an insect and rodent control program.
Autoclave: used to sterilize
equipment and waste using
high pressure saturated steam
(200 kPa) at 121 deg. C for 15
to 20 minutes.
BioSafety Level 1
Personal Protective Equipment
Safety glasses
Lab coat
Suitable gloves
RG2: Agents of moderate hazard to
personnel or environment

Basic lab, but restricted access, containment during
certain processes (i.e. aerosols, large volumes, etc.)

Autoclave and Biological Safety Cabinet desired

Use good laboratory practices, waste disposal, and
aseptic techniques

Example: most non-respiratory, non lethal, agents
BioSafety Level 2
BioSafety Level 2 Safety Equipment
In addition to BSL-1 requirements:
Use a biosafety cabinet (Class II) for work with infectious
agents involving:
Aerosols and splashes
Large volumes
High concentrations.
Class II biosafety cabinet
BioSafety Cabinets (BSC)
Class I
Class I cabinets provide personnel and environmental
protection but no product protection. In fact, the inward
flow of air can contribute to contamination of samples.

Inward airflow is maintained at a minimum velocity of 75
ft/min. These BSCs are commonly used to enclose specific
equipment (e.g. centrifuges) or procedures (e.g. aerating
cultures) that potentially generate aerosols. BSCs of this
class are either ducted (connected to the building exhaust
system) or unducted (recirculating filtered exhaust back
into the laboratory).


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_II_cabinet
BioSafety Cabinets (BSC)
Class II
Class II cabinets provide both kinds of protection (of the
samples and of the environment) since makeup air is also
HEPA-filtered.
Class III
The Class III cabinet, generally only installed in maximum
containment laboratories, is specifically designed for work
with BSL-4 pathogenic agents, providing maximum
protection. The enclosure is gas-tight, and all materials
enter and leave through a dunk tank or double-door
autoclave. Gloves attached to the front prevent direct
contact with hazardous materials (Class III cabinets are
sometimes called glove-boxes).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_II_cabinet
BioSafety Level 2 Equipment
Vacuum lines protected with liquid disinfectant traps
and/or HEPA filters. HEPA High Efficiency Particulate
Air filter.
A: Suction flask to collect the contaminated fluids into a suitable
decontamination solution.
B: Fluid overflow collection vessel.
C: HEPA filter.
D: Vacuum system.
http://or.ucsf.edu/ehs/7240-DSY/11069
FORGET ABOUT IT AT MTU!

RG3: Agents of high hazard to personnel or environment
Respiratory exotic or indigenous agents which are easily
transmissible causing serious or lethal disease
All work is contained, engineering controls and controlled
environments we currently do not have the facilities to
handle.

Example: Mycobacterium tuberculosis, SARS, etc.
BioSafety Level 3
FORGET ABOUT IT!!!

RG4: Hemorrhagic fever, deadly viruses, etc.
Total containment, airtight labs, submarine doors,
air pumps, water treatment, HEPA filtration, etc.
Positive pressure moonsuits
BioSafety Level 4