Microbiology and Parasitology Lab: Biosafety and Biological Hazards

Biosafety Program

• A Biosafety Program provides guidance for maintaining a safe and healthy working environment when handling biological agents.

Biosafety Practices and Principles

• Biosafety practices and principles reduce health-related risks associated with handling infectious agents, toxins, and other biological hazards in a laboratory setting.
• Examples of biosafety measures include:
  • Biosafety cabinets
  • Personal protective equipment (masks, gloves, safety glasses, and lab coats)
  • Hand washing
  • Procedures for safe use of chemicals

Laboratory Biosafety

• Laboratory biosafety involves using biosafety principles and practices to reduce health-related risks associated with handling infectious agents, toxins, and other biological hazards in laboratories.
• Types of laboratories using biosafety principles and practices include:
  • Clinical and diagnostic laboratories
  • Research laboratories
  • Teaching laboratories
  • Medical countermeasure production laboratories
• These laboratories work with infectious microorganisms and other biological hazards affecting human, animal, and plant health.

Laboratory Containment

• Containment refers to safe methods, facilities, and equipment for managing infectious materials in the laboratory environment.
• The purpose of containment is to reduce or eliminate exposure of laboratory workers, other persons, and the outside environment to potentially hazardous agents.
• The three elements of containment are:
  • Laboratory practice and technique
  • Safety equipment
  • Facility design

Primary Containment

• Primary containment protects personnel and the immediate laboratory environment from exposure to infectious agents through:
  • Good microbiological technique
  • Use of appropriate safety equipment
  • Use of vaccines (may provide an increased level of personal protection)

Secondary Containment

• Secondary containment protects the environment external to the laboratory from exposure to infectious materials through a combination of facility design and operational practices.

Biological Hazards (Biohazards)

• Biohazards include:
  • Biological agents (parasites, viruses, bacteria, fungi, prions)
  • Toxins (infectious to humans, animals, plants, wildlife)
  • Biologically-active materials (toxins, allergens, venoms)
• Biohazards can cause disease in living organisms and significant damage to the environment.
• People, animals, and the environment are protected from biohazards in the laboratory through the use of specific practices, training for laboratory staff, safety equipment, and specially designed buildings.

Biosafety

• 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.

Biosafety Program

• A biosafety program implements actions to:
  • Identify biological hazards
  • Evaluate the level of health-related risks the biological hazard presents to humans, agriculture, wildlife, and the environment
  • Identify ways to reduce the health-related risks associated with the biological hazard.