Summary - (CDC) Biosafety in Microbiological and Biological Labs

Under CDC guidelines, Biosafety level 1 (BSL1) procedures include the following:

1. Access to the laboratory is limited or restricted at the discretion of the laboratory director when experiments or work with cultures and specimens are in progress.
   
2. Persons wash their hands after they handle viable materials and animals, 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 where there is reasonable likelihood of exposure to potentially infectious materials.
   
4. Persons who wear contact lenses in laboratories should also wear goggles or a face shield.
   
5. Food is stored outside the work area in cabinets or refrigerators designated and used for this purpose only.
   
6. Mouth pipetting is prohibited; mechanical pipetting devices are used.
   
7. All procedures are performed carefully to minimize the creation of splashes or aerosols.
   
8. Work surfaces are decontaminated at least once a day and after any spill of viable material.
   
9. 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, leakproof container and closed for transport from the laboratory. Materials to be decontaminated at off-site from the laboratory are packaged in accordance with applicable local, state, and federal regulations, before removal from the facility.
   
10. It is recommended that laboratory coats, gowns, or uniforms be worn to prevent contamination or soiling of street clothes.
    
11. Gloves should be worn if the skin on the hands is broken or if a rash exists.
    
12. Protective eyewear should be worn for anticipated splashes of microorganisms or other hazardous materials to the face.
    
13. Laboratories should have doors for access control.
    
14. Each laboratory should contain a sink for handwashing.
    
15. The laboratory should be designed so that it can be easily cleaned. Carpets and rugs in laboratories are not appropriate.
    
16. If the laboratory has windows that open, they are fitted with fly screens.

1. limit or restrict access to the laboratory when work with infectious agents is in progress, including determining who may be at increased risk;
   
2. establish 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. ensure that laboratory personnel are offered appropriate immunizations or tests for the agents handled or potentially present in the laboratory (e.g., hepatitis B vaccine or TB skin testing);
   
4. select and provide appropriate personal protective equipment required for work with hazardous materials;
   
5. ensure that the biohazard symbol is used to identify equipment, containers, rooms and materials that contain or are contaminated with viable hazardous agents or human blood/tissue;
   
6. ensure that a biological safety cabinet is available for procedures with a potential for creating infectious aerosols or splashes (centrifuging, grinding, blending, vigorous shaking or mixing, sonic disruption, opening containers with different internal pressures, inoculating animals intranasally, harvesting infected tissues from animals or embryonate eggs), or high concentrations or large volumes of infectious agents or organisms containing recombinant DNA molecules are used.
   
7. ensure 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, and that personnel receive annual updates or additional training as necessary for procedural or policy changes; and
   
8. develop standard operating procedures incorporating biosafety procedures or a biosafety manual prepared specifically for the laboratory and safety procedures for toxins, advise personnel of special hazards, and require them to read and follow instructions on practices and procedures.