The Health Sciences Spotlight

Biosafety 101

  

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Two of our guys are off to ABSA 2011 this week, so it seems like a fine time to talk biosafety.  Biosafety (or biological safety) can mean a lot of things to a lot of people, but a good general definition is: "the collection of handling and containment procedures, guidelines, and precautions that protect humans and the environment from exposure to biohazardous agents or materials" (UC Davis, 2011). The CDC provides the standard guide for biosafety, the "Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL) 5th Edition" (CDC, 2010).  From this document, laboratories and institutions take their guidance for all biosafety-related actions. 

Personal Protective Equipment

Personal protective equipment (PPE) encompasses "the respiratory equipment, garments, and barrier materials used to protect rescuers and medical personnel from exposure to biological, chemical, and radioactive hazards" (WebMD, 2011). "OSHA requires the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) to reduce employee exposure to hazards when engineering and administrative controls are not feasible or effective in reducing these exposures to acceptable levels" (OSHA, 2011).  If an institution needs to use PPE, there must be a PPE program that addresses: "the hazards present; the selection, maintenance, and use of PPE; the training of employees; and monitoring of the program to ensure its ongoing effectiveness" (OSHA, 2011).

Material Safety Data Sheets

Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) are "designed to provide both workers and emergency personnel with the proper procedures for handling or working with a particular substance. MSDS's include information such as physical data (melting point, boiling point, flash point etc.), toxicity, health effects, first aid, reactivity, storage, disposal, protective equipment, and spill/leak procedures" (ILPI, 2008).  MSDSs are used by:

• "Employees who may be occupationally exposed to a hazard at work.
• Employers who need to know the proper methods for storage etc.
• Emergency responders such as fire fighters, hazardous material crews, emergency medical technicians, and emergency room personnel" (ILPI, 2008)

While your institution is likely to have someone in charge of MSDSs, you can take a look at some online. McMaster University (2011) provides an excellent list of MSDSs on their website.  The Canadian version of MSDS, Pathogen Data Safety Sheets can be found on the Public Health Agency of Canada's website. (Image credit)

Laboratory Biosafety Levels

Depending on the type of work being done in a lab, it will have a certain biological safety level (BSL) associated with it. These BSLs are determined by the biological agents and their risk levels, assuming that there are ordinary research circumstances in the laboratory.  The BSLs are ranked 1-4, from low to high risk.

• BSL-1:  The biological agents pose low risk to personnel and the environment. "These agents are highly unlikely to cause disease in healthy laboratory workers, animals or plants"
• BSL-2: The biological agents pose moderate risk to personnel and the environment. "If exposure occurs in a laboratory situation, the risk of spread is limited and it rarely would cause infection that would lead to serious disease. Effective treatment and preventive measures are available in the event that an infection occurs"
• BSL-3: The biological agents usually cause serious disease in humans, animals, or plants or can result in serious economic consequences
• BSL-4:  The biological agents "usually produce very serious disease (human, animal or plant) that is often untreatable. These agents are usually easily transmitted from one individual to another, from animal to human or vice-versa, either directly or indirectly, or by casual contact" (Ohio State, 2011)

The BSL will determine the procedure for having research approved, the training required, and the PPE worn.

International Focus

Throughout 2011, ABSA has actively supported the the Elizabeth R. Griffin Research Foundation's concept: "2011 – The Year of Building International Biosafety Communities." Their collaborative purpose is to "promote [worldwide] biosafety/biosecurity awareness, encourage the development of new local biosafety associations, promote the growth and sustainability of existing biosafety associations, increase the quality and participation in biosafety/biosecurity training, develop effective collaborative relationships amongst partners in the biosafety/biosecurity community, foster a greater sense of community amongst biosafety professionals worldwide, and initiate activities that will promote increased knowledge of biosafety and biosecurity to audiences within and outside the scientific research community" (ABSA, 2011).  Along those lines, HealthRx has partnered with the National Institutes of Health, the World Health Organization, the Asia-Pacific Biosafety Association, and the National Biosafety and Biocontainment Training Program to host the Asia-Pacific Biosafety Training Network.  We are also pleased to provided licensed versions of the APBTN's training courses within our Training Manager product. 

Some other good sources from biosafety training and education can be found at the following links:

The CITI Program training for a solid foundation in the principles of the containment of biohazards

Laboratory biosecurity training from the CDC

Biosafety training from the CDC

ABSA's biosafety training tools

Definitions of biosafety terms

ABSA's alliance with OSHA

ABSA's Journal of the American Biological Safety Association