Laboratory biosafety

Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health. (1999). Laboratory biosafety level criteria. In Biosafety in microbiological and biomedical laboratories (4th ed.). Washington, DC U.S. Government Printing Office. 

The principal element of containment is strict adherence to standard microbiological practices and procedures. They are fundamental to laboratory biosafety at all levels of containment and are designed primarily to protect the laboratory worker by avoiding any activities that are potential sources of infection (see Table 3). Attention must also be paid to the additional protection provided by safety equipment (primary barriers) and facility design (secondary barriers), particularly with regard to work at Biosafety/Laboratory Containment Levels 3 and 4. 

Laboratory biosafety manual (1993) World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland. 

WHO (World Health Organization). 2003. WF[0 laboratory biosafety guidelines, 2nd ed. Geneva World Health Organization. 

LBM Laboratory Biosafety Manual World Health Organization Geneva, 1993... 

Centers for Disease Conrol, N. I. o. H. Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories, 4th ed. Washington, DC US Government Printing Office, 1999. 

Canada Minister of National Health and Welfare, Laboratory Centre for Disease Control, Office of Biosafety. Material Safety Data Sheet-Infectious Substances Clostridium botulinum. January 23, 2001. 

The "P" has been replaced with "BSL" or Biosafety Level. There are four biosafety levels which are defined according to a combination of facility design, laboratory practices and techniques, equipment and health and safety controls. It is not practical to try to completely describe all of the features and definitions pertaining to biocontainment laboratories in a chapter dedicated to an overview of design. Therefore, we will concentrate on the elements of building design for "maximum containment" or BSL-4 facilities. 

Protection Association, 1986. Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories, 1st... 

Unheard of amounts of federal funds is going into the construction of biocontainment laboratories, or hot labs, where the deadliest biological agents and potential bioweapons can be studied, researched and analyzed. These new hot labs would be mainly Biosafety Level 4 and Biosafety Level 3 laboratories dealing with infectious agents and toxins, the worst kind as far as danger and safety is concerned. 

Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) Important procedures for BSL-4 and BSL-3 laboratories (as well as BSL-2 and BSL-1) are contained in a valuable 250-page manual, Biosafety in... 

Biosafety Level 1 (BSL-1) Suitable for work involving well-characterized agents not known to consistently cause disease in healthy adults humans, and of minimal potential hazard to laboratory personnel and the environment requiring standard microbiological practices. 

BSL 2 Biosafety Level 2 is suitable for work involving microorganisms of moderate potential hazard to personnel and the environment. Safety equipment Class I or II biosafety cabinets or other physical containment devices laboratory coats, gloves, face protection as needed. Microorganisms include hepatitis B virus, HIV, salmonellae, and mycoplasma. 

Source National Institutes of Health. Biosafety in Biological and Microbiological Laboratories. http //bmbl.od.nih.gov/sect2.htm [accessed September 21,2007]. 

---