| The Laboratory Biosafety Levels |
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Essential guidelines for Bio safety level 1 and 2 Laboratories: The following guidelines have been formulated by CDC-NIH in Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical laboratory 4th edition .Each laboratory should adopt Standard operational procedures from these guidelines according to the type of work being carried out in their lab by identifying potential hazards, and specifies practices and procedures to eliminate or minimize such hazards. Such operational procedures should be logged and made available in form of Laboratory manual. Laboratory Biosafety Level Criteria There are four Biosafety levels for activities involving infectious microorganisms and laboratory animals. The levels are designated in ascending order, by degree of protection provided to personnel, the environment, and the community. Biosafety Level 1 (BSL-1) Biosafety Level 1 is suitable for work involving well-characterized agents not known to consistently cause disease in healthy adult humans, and may cause minimal potential hazard to laboratory personnel and the environment e.g. Bacillus subtilis, Naegleria gruberi, infectious canine hepatitis virus. The laboratory is not necessarily separated from the general traffic patterns in the building. Work is generally conducted on open bench tops using standard microbiological practices. Special containment equipment or facility design is neither required nor generally used. Laboratory personnel have specific training in the procedures conducted in the laboratory and are supervised by a scientist with general training in microbiology or a related science. The following standard and special practices, safety equipment and facilities apply to agents assigned to Biosafety Level 1: A. Standard Microbiological Practices 1. Access to the laboratory is limited or restricted when experiments or work with cultures and specimens are in progress. 2. Persons wash their hands after they handle viable materials, after removing gloves, and before leaving the laboratory. 3. Eating, drinking, smoking, handling contact lenses, applying cosmetics, and storing food for human use are not permitted in the work areas. Persons who wear contact lenses in laboratories should also wear goggles or a face shield. Food is stored outside the work area in cabinets or refrigerators designated and used for this purpose only. 4. Mouth pipetting is prohibited; mechanical pipetting devices are used. 5. Policies for the safe handling of sharps are instituted. 6. All procedures are performed carefully to minimize the creation of splashes or aerosols. 7. Work surfaces are decontaminated at least once a day and after any spill of viable material. 8. All cultures, stocks, and other regulated wastes are decontaminated before disposal by an approved decontamination method such as autoclaving. Materials to be decontaminated outside of the immediate laboratory are to be placed in a durable, leak proof container and closed for transport from the laboratory. Materials to be decontaminated outside of the immediate laboratory are packaged in accordance with applicable local, state, and federal regulations before removal from the facility. 9. A biohazard sign can be posted at the entrance to the laboratory whenever infectious agents are present. The sign may include the name of the agent(s) in use and the name and phone number of the investigator. 10. An insect and rodent control program is in effect. B. Special Practices: None C. Safety Equipment (Primary Barriers) 1. Special containment devices or equipment such as biological safety cabinets are generally not required for manipulations of agents assigned to Biosafety Level 1. 2. It is recommended that laboratory coats or gowns be worn to prevent contamination of street clothes. 3. Gloves should be worn if the skin on the hands is broken or if a rash is present. 4. Protective eyewear should be worn for conduct of procedures in which splashes of microorganisms or other hazardous materials is anticipated. D. Laboratory Facilities (Secondary Barriers) 1. Laboratories should have doors for access control. 2. Each laboratory contains a sink for hand washing. 3. The laboratory is designed so that it can be easily cleaned. Carpets and rugs in laboratories are not appropriate. 4. Bench tops are impervious to water and are resistant to moderate heat and the organic solvents, acids, alkalis, and chemicals used to decontaminate the work surface and equipment. 5. Laboratory furniture is capable of supporting anticipated loading and uses. Spaces between benches, cabinets, and equipment are accessible for cleaning. 6. Laboratory windows that open to the exterior should be fitted with fly screens.
Biosafety Level 2 (BSL-2) Biosafety Level 2 is similar to Biosafety Level 1 and is suitable for work involving agents of moderate potential hazard to personnel and the environment that are present in the community and associated with human disease of varying severity. With good microbiological techniques, these agents can be used safely in activities conducted on the open bench, provided the potential for producing splashes or aerosols is low. Hepatitis B virus, HIV, the salmonellae, and Toxoplasma spp. are representative of microorganisms assigned to this containment level. It differs from BSL-1 in that (1) laboratory personnel have specific training in handling pathogenic agents and are directed by competent scientists; (2) access to the laboratory is limited when work is being conducted; (3) extreme precautions are taken with contaminated sharp items; and (4) certain procedures in which infectious aerosols or splashes may be created are conducted in biological safety cabinets or other physical containment equipment. The following standard and special practices, safety equipment, and facilities apply to agents assigned to Biosafety Level 2: A. Standard Microbiological Practices 1. Access to the laboratory is limited or restricted when experiments are in progress. 2. Persons wash their hands after they handle viable materials, after removing gloves, and before leaving the laboratory. 3. Eating, drinking, smoking, handling contact lenses, and applying cosmetics are not permitted in the work areas. Food is stored outside the work area in cabinets or refrigerators designated for this purpose only. 4. Mouth pipetting is prohibited; mechanical pipetting devices are used. 5. Policies for the safe handling of sharps are instituted. 6. All procedures are performed carefully to minimize the creation of splashes or aerosols. 7. Work surfaces are decontaminated on completion of work or at the end of the day and after any spill or splash of viable material with disinfectants that are effective against the agents of concern. 8. All cultures, stocks, and other regulated wastes are decontaminated before disposal by an approved decontamination method such as autoclaving. Materials to be decontaminated outside of the immediate laboratory are placed in a durable, leak proof container and closed for transport from the laboratory. Materials to be decontaminated off-site from the facility are packaged in accordance with applicable local, state, and federal regulations, before removal from the facility. 9. An insect and rodent control program should be implemented. B. Special Practices 1. Access to the laboratory is limited or restricted by the laboratory supervisor when work with infectious agents is in progress. Persons who are immunocompromised or immunosuppressed and may be at increased risk of acquiring infections or for whom infection may have serious consequences, are not allowed in the laboratory or animal rooms. The laboratory supervisor has the final responsibility for assessing each circumstance and determining who may enter or work in the laboratory or animal room. 2. The laboratory supervisor establishes policies and procedures whereby only persons who have been advised of the potential hazards and meet specific entry requirements (e.g., immunization) may enter the laboratory. 3. A biohazard sign must be posted on the entrance to the laboratory. Appropriate information to be posted includes the agents in use, the Biosafety level, the required immunizations, the investigator's name and telephone number, any personal protective equipment that must be worn in the laboratory, and any procedures required for exiting the laboratory. 4. Laboratory personnel receive appropriate immunizations or tests for the agents handled or potentially present in the laboratory (e.g., hepatitis B vaccine or TB skin testing). 5. When appropriate, considering the agents handled baseline serum samples for laboratory and other at-risk personnel are collected and stored. Additional serum specimens may be collected periodically, depending on the agents handled or the function of the facility. 6. Biosafety procedures are incorporated into standard operating procedures or in a Biosafety manual adopted or prepared specifically for the laboratory. Personnel are advised of special hazards and are required to read and follow instructions on practices and procedures. 7. The laboratory supervisor ensures that laboratory and support personnel receive appropriate training on the potential hazards associated with the work involved, the necessary precautions to prevent exposures, and the exposure evaluation procedures. Personnel receive annual updates or additional training as necessary for procedural or policy changes. 8. A high degree of precaution must always be taken with any contaminated sharp items, including needles and syringes, slides, pipettes, capillary tubes, and scalpels. a. Needles and syringes or other sharp instruments should be restricted in the laboratory for use only when there is no alternative, such as parenteral injection, phlebotomy, or aspiration of fluids from laboratory animals and diaphragm bottles. Plastic ware should be substituted for glassware whenever possible. b. Only needle-locking syringes or disposable syringe-needle units (i.e., needle is integral to the syringe) are used for injection or aspiration of infectious materials. Used disposable needles must not be bent, broken, recapped, removed from disposable syringes, or otherwise manipulated by hand before disposal; rather, they must be carefully placed in conveniently located puncture-resistant containers used for sharps disposal. Non-disposable sharps must be placed in a hard-walled container for transport to a processing area for decontamination, preferably by autoclaving. c. Syringes which re-sheathe the needle, needleless systems, and other safety devices are used when appropriate. d. Broken glassware must not be handled directly by hand, but must be removed by brush and dustpan, tongs, or forceps. Containers of contaminated needles, sharp equipment, and broken glass are decontaminated before disposal, according to any local, state, or federal regulations. 9. Cultures, tissues, specimens of body fluids, or potentially infectious wastes are placed in a container with a cover that prevents leakage during collection, handling, processing, storage, transport, or shipping. 10. Laboratory equipment and work surfaces should be decontaminated with an effective disinfectant on a routine basis, after work with infectious materials is finished, and especially after spills, splashes, or other contamination by infectious materials. Contaminated equipment must be decontaminated before it is sent for repair or maintenance or packaged for transport before removal from the facility. 11. Spills and accidents that result in overt exposures to infectious materials are immediately reported to the laboratory supervisor. Medical evaluation, surveillance, and treatment are provided as appropriate and written records are maintained. 12. Animals not involved in the work being performed are not permitted in the lab. C. Safety Equipment (Primary Barriers) 1. Properly maintained biological safety cabinets, preferably Class II, or other appropriate personal protective equipment or physical containment devices are used whenever: a. Procedures with a potential for creating infectious aerosols or splashes are conducted. These may include centrifuging, grinding, blending, vigorous shaking or mixing, sonic disruption, opening containers of infectious materials whose internal pressures may be different from ambient pressures, inoculating animals, and harvesting infected tissues from animals or embryonated eggs. b. High concentrations or large volumes of infectious agents are used. Such materials may be centrifuged in the open laboratory if sealed rotor heads or centrifuge safety cups are used, and if these rotors or safety cups are opened only in a biological safety cabinet. 2. Face protection (goggles, mask, face shield or other splatter guard) is used for anticipated splashes or sprays of infectious or other hazardous materials to the face when the microorganisms must be manipulated outside the BSC. 3. Protective laboratory coats or gowns designated for lab use are worn while in the laboratory. This protective clothing is removed and left in the laboratory before leaving for non-laboratory areas (e.g., cafeteria, library, administrative offices). All protective clothing is either disposed of in the laboratory or laundered by the institution; it should never be taken home by personnel. 4. Gloves are worn when hands may contact potentially infectious materials, contaminated surfaces or equipment. Wearing two pairs of gloves may be appropriate. Gloves are disposed of when contaminated and removed when work with infectious materials is completed or when the integrity of the glove is compromised. Disposable gloves are not washed, reused, or used for touching "clean" surfaces (keyboards, telephones, etc.), and they should not be worn outside the lab. Hands are washed following removal of gloves. D. Laboratory Facilities (Secondary Barriers) 1. Laboratory doors should be lockable. 2. Consider locating new laboratories away from public areas. 3. Each laboratory contains a sink for hand washing. 4. The laboratory is designed so that it can be easily cleaned. Carpets and rugs in laboratories are inappropriate. 5. Bench tops are impervious to water and are resistant to moderate heat and the organic solvents, acids, alkalis, and chemicals used to decontaminate the work surfaces and equipment. 6. Laboratory furniture is capable of supporting anticipated loading and uses. Spaces between benches, cabinets, and equipment are accessible for cleaning. Chairs and other furniture used in laboratory work should be covered with a non-fabric material that can be easily decontaminated. 7. Install biological safety cabinets in such a manner that fluctuations of the room supply and exhaust air do not cause the biological safety cabinets to operate outside their parameters for containment. Locate biological safety cabinets away from doors, from windows that can be opened, from heavily traveled laboratory areas, and from other potentially disruptive equipment so as to maintain the biological safety cabinets' air flow parameters for containment. 8. An eyewash station is readily available. 9. Illumination is adequate for all activities, avoiding reflections and glare that could impede vision. 10. There are no specific ventilation requirements. However, planning of new facilities should consider mechanical ventilation systems that provide an inward flow of air without recirculation to spaces outside of the laboratory. If the laboratory has windows that open to the exterior, they are fitted with fly screens. References:
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