What is a biosafety plan?
A biosafety program will identify biological hazards, measure the level of health-related risks the biological hazards present, and identify ways to reduce the health-related risks associated with the biological hazards..
What is the basic concept of biosafety?
The term “biosafety” refers to the use of specific practices, safety equipment, and specially designed buildings to ensure that workers, the community, and the environment are protected from accidental exposure or unintentional release of infectious agents, toxins, and other biological hazards..
What is the difference between BSL 1 and BSL-2?
BSL-1 is designated for those working with microbes that don't cause disease in healthy humans, for example, non-pathogenic E. coli.
BSL-2 is for labs that work with pathogens including organisms such as Staphylococcus aureus or Vibrio cholerae..
What is the difference between BSL 2 and BSL 3?
BSL 2 laboratories are designed to contain potentially infectious agents, while BSL 3 laboratories are designed to contain highly infectious agents.
Both BSL 2 and BSL 3 laboratories require similar environmental and air pressure controls to minimize the risk of exposure..
What is the difference between BSL 3 and BSL-4?
BSL-4 builds upon the containment requirements of BSL-3 and is the highest level of biological safety.
There are a small number of BSL-4 labs in the United States and around the world.
The microbes in a BSL-4 lab are dangerous and exotic, posing a high risk of aerosol-transmitted infections..
When should I replace my biosafety cabinet?
It explains that BSCs have a 15-year usable life, and after 20 years, replacement parts may not be available..
- BSL-3 involves handling indigenous or exotic agents that may cause serious or potentially lethal diseases through inhalation and/or pose a serious threat to the environment.
Compared with the BSL-2 lab, BSL-3 labs require additional security precautions: Only limited access to the laboratory is allowed.