BSL and ABSL Flashcards
What is a primary barrier/containment?
Physical containment measures placed directly at the level of the hazard.
What are examples of primary barriers/safety equipment?
Biosafety cabinets or sealed containers, such as sealed rotors and cetrifuge safety cups.
In what examples might secondary barriers or PPE act as a primary barrier?
With large/agricultural animals. Facility becomes the primary barrier and personnel must rely on administrative and personal protective equipment to reduce risk of exposure.
What is a secondary barrier?
Facility design and construction.
What does ASHRAE stand for?
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers.
What are examples of secondary barrier factors to consider?
Ventilation, effluent decon systems, controlled access, separation of offices and labs, ante rooms, and airlocks
Who is ultimately responsible for the work conducted within laboratory facilities?
Management and leadership.
When might PPE become the primary barrier?
In situations where BSC cannot be used.
How is each biosafety level distinguished?
Standard microbiological practices, special practices, safety equipment (Primary barriers and PPE), and laboratory facilities (secondary barriers)
What is the biosafety level not equivalent to? Who determines this?
Not equivalent to the risk group. Risk group is described by NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules.
How are risk groups determined?
Ability to cause disease in healthy human adults and spread within the community.
Describe a BSL1 agent.
Well-characterized
What specific access requirements and equipment is needed for BSL1 work?
Access: Not generally separated from general traffic patterns.
Equipment: Generally open benchtops.
Work requires standard micro best practices with a door, sink for handwashing, and non-porous work surfaces that are cleanable and easy to decontaminate.
Describe BSL2 agents.
Agents associated with human disease and pose moderate hazards to personnel and the environment.
Aerosol risk is low, primary risk is through transmucosal, percutaneous, or ingestion.
Includes blood, body fluids, tissues, or primary cell lines where the presence of a biological agent or toxin is unknown.
What are examples of BSL1 agents?
Bacillus subtilis, Naegleria gruberi, infectious canine hepatitis virus
What are examples of BSL2 agents?
Hepatitis B, HIV, Salmonella, and Toxoplasma
What access and equipment is required for BSL2 work?
Access to lab should be restricted when work is being conducted.
All procedures in which aerosols or splashes may be created are conducted in BSCs or other physical containment equipment.
Describe BSL3.
Indigenous or exotic agents that may cause serious or potentially lethal disease through the inhalation route of exposure.
What are examples of BSL3 agents?
Coxiella burnetii, St. Louis encephalitis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Potential for resp. exposure
What special equipment is required for BSL3 work?
All procedures involving manipulation of infectious materials are conducted within a BSC or other primary containment device.
Enhanced ventilation strategies to ensure inward directional airflow, controlled access zones to limit access to only approved personnel, and may contain anterooms, airlocks, exit showers, and/or exhaust HEPA filtration.
Describe BSL4.
Dangerous and exotic agents that pose high individual risk of aerosol-transmitted lab infections and life-threatening diseases that are frequently fatal, agents for which there are no vaccines or treatments, or work with a related agent with unknown risk of transmission.
What are examples of BSL4 agents?
Marburg, Congo-Crimean hemorrhagic fever virus
How are agents with close or identical antigenic relationship to agents requiring BSL4 containment handled?
Handled as BSL4 until sufficient data to redesignate the level.
How is the lab worker’s complete isolation from aerosolized infectious material accomplished with BSL4 agents?
Working in a Class III BSC or in a Class II BSC with a full-body, air-supplied positive pressure personnel suit.
What are the secondary barriers for BSL4 agents?
Includes those previously mentioned for previous biosafety levels. Facility is often a separate building or completely isolated zone with complex, specialized ventilation requirements and waste management systems, both solid and liquid, to prevent release of hazardous biological agents into surrounding community and environment.
How do BSL and ABSL differ?
Not the same. The ABSL for an infectious agent can change depending on the species.
Describe ABSL1.
Animal work involving well-characterized agents that are not known to consistently cause disease in immunocompetent adult humans and present minimal potential hazards to personnel and the environment.
Describe ABSL2.
Work involving animals infected with agents associated with human disease and posing a moderate hazard to personnel and the environment. Addresses hazards from ingestion, percutaneous, and mucous membrane exposure.
What does ABSL2 work require?
A BSC or other physical containment equipment is used when procedures involving the manipulation of infectious materials or where aerosols or splashes may be created.
Describe ABSL3.
Work with animals infected with indigenous or exotic agents, agents that present a potential for aerosol transmission, and agents causing serious or potentially lethal disease.
What equipment is required for ABSL3 work?
All procedures conducted in BSCs or use of other physical containment equipment. Inward airflow at containment boundary. Handwashing sinks capable of hands-free operation.
Describe ABSL4.
Work with animals infected with dangerous and exotic agents that pose a high individual risk of aerosol-transmitted laboratory infections and life-threatening diseases that are frequently fatal, agents for which there are no vaccines or treatments, or work with a related agent with unknown risk of transmission
What does ABSL Ag refer to? How is it unique compared to traditional lab animal species?
Refers to the biosafety and biocontainment for pathogens affecting agricultural animals and animals that are loose-housed in open penning. Loosely housed may be a single room, area within a larger building, or an entire building.
Describe ABSL-2 Ag. What agents does it include?
For in vivo work involving agents requiring ABSL-2 in large livestock or wildlife species that cannot be housed in primary containment isolators.
Agents may be primary animal pathogens or zoonotic. Are classified as risk group 1 or 2. Pose a low to moderate economic risks to agriculture sector.
Example - Potentially serious ag pathogen that is endemic in the location the lab is situated.
What practices and equipment does ABSL2 Ag require?
Standard practices, procedures, containment equipment, and facility design features required for ABSL-2. Perimeter of the primary containment zone is defined by the physical room and an outer containment zone by the physical facility.
Describe ABSL3 Ag. What agents does it include?
For in vivo work with pathogens of agricultural and wildlife species that pose moderate- to high-risk to agricultural production and may also be zoonotic.
Includes risk group 1, 2, and 3 pathogens.
Pathogens are specific, transboundary livestock or wildlife pathogens defined by USDA APHIS VS. Defined as High-Consequence Foreign Animal Diseases and Pests by USDA APHIS.
Describe ABSL4 Ag. What agents does it include? What equipment is needed?
Agents that pose a sig economic risk to the agricultural sector and/or (?) are zoonotic pathogen consistent with risk group 3 or 4 classification, for which effective treatments and/or preventative measures are not available for humans.
Personnel working in ABSL4 Ag must wear positive pressure suits.
Includes zoonotic pathogens that would ordinarily require facilities and procedures commensurate with ABSL4 containment or a comprehensive local assessment, which also assesses the cross-contamination risk, for animals that cannot be housed in primary containment isolators.
