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THE ORCBS > Biological Safety > Programs & Guidelines > Biosafety Manual >
Biological safety is the application of knowledge, techniques and equipment to prevent personal, laboratory and environmental exposure to potentially infectious agents or biohazards. Biosafety defines the containment conditions under which infectious agents can be safely manipulated. The objective of containment is to confine biohazards and to reduce the potential exposure of the laboratory worker, persons outside of the laboratory, and the environment to potentially infectious agents. It can be accomplished through the following means: Primary Containment: Protection of personnel and the immediate laboratory environment through good microbiological technique (laboratory practice) and the use of appropriate safety equipment. Secondary Containment: Protection of the environment external to the laboratory from exposure to infectious materials through a combination of facility design and operational practices. Combinations of laboratory practices, containment equipment, and special laboratory design can be made to achieve different levels of physical containment. Currently four biosafety levels (1- 4) define the levels of containment necessary to protect personnel and the environment. A biosafety level 1 (BSL-1) is the least restrictive, while biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) requires a special containment laboratory or facility, which is not available at MSU. Since most of the research at MSU is conducted at biosafety levels 1 and 2 with few experiments at BSL-3, this manual will mainly focus on these three biosafety levels. For more information on biosafety level 4 requirements refer to the appropriate literature or contact the Biological Safety Officer. A summary of the different biosafety level requirements can be found in Appendix G. The most important element in maintaining a safe work environment is strict adherence to good microbiological and laboratory practices and techniques. Everyone working with infectious agents or potentially infectious materials must be aware of the potential risks. In addition, they must be trained and proficient in the practices and techniques required for handling such material. It is the responsibility of the Principal Investigator or person in charge of the laboratory to provide or arrange for appropriate training of all personnel. |
Biological Safety and Biosafety Levels
