Laboratory Management And Quality Assuarance

Safety level of labs and safety in the lab [EDITed 13/07]

Hey everyone, it is the 3rd week of Sip. Due to the current outbreak of the Virus that we all know, the lab that i am with has changed most of their routine work to focus on the "NOT TO BE MENTION-ED", thus, i am not able to give more details or information on the routine work steps.

So i will talk more about safety of the Labs.

There are different levels of biological safety rating for labs, ranging from 1 to 4. BSL 1 labs handle the common, least pathogenic substance/microbes. Little protective gear has to be woren in the lab (little NOT none). BSL 2 lab handles with substances/microbes that are slightly pathogenic as compared to BSL 1 labs. There is even a biological safety cabinet (BSC). The BSC works by having a certain air flow current and HEPA filters. HEPA filter can remove particulates which includes microorganism from the air. Also, in a BSL 2 lab, more personal protective equipment (PPE) has to be woren. PPE such as yellow gowns, n95 mask. A BSL 3 lab handles with the super dangerous and more pathogenic substance/microbes. More protective PPE such as face mask, yellow gowns, n95 face mask has to be woren. BSL 4 lab handles with high risk and life threatening organisms. Both accesses to BSL 3 and 4 labs are very high monitored, access to these labs are prohibited.

If you were to work in a lab that has higher BSL, you will definitely require more training. Also, more PPE will be required in the different labs.

There are 3 classes of BSC available.

Class 1 BSC offers worker protection and enviroment protection. It does not provide product protection as "dirty" air constantly enter the BSC from the front and may risk contaminating the specimen. It is often used for low to moderate infectious agent. The air in the BSC will pass through the HEPA filter thus it protects the enviroment by filtering out the infectious particles.

Class 2 is further divided to class A1, A2, B1 and B2.
All Class 2 BSC will provide worker protection, enviroment protection and product protection. Class 2 BSC can be differetiated from Class 1 BSC by features such as opening with maintained inward airflow, airflow in the BSC is unidirectional ad is filtered throught the HEPA filters and the filtered air goes to a room or a facility exhaust system.
Class 2A BSC have 70% recirculated air and 30% air that is removed, while class 2B1 BSC have 40% of the air being recirculated and 60% that is removed. Class B2 has 0% air recirculation and 100% air removal. Class 2A has its HEPA filter on the top and filtered air flow downwards. Class 2B has its HEPA filter fixed a the bottom, air from the enviroment flows to the filters first before going into the working chamber.
The difference in class 2 A BSC 1 and 2 is that in 1 75FPM (Air Flow in feet per minute) while class 2A 2 has 100FPM.

Class 3 BSC is the total containment cabinets. it is gas tight and provides the highest level of protection to the enviroment, personnel and product.

Next, safety is a important issue in the laboratories. Every labs should be equipped with at least a fire extinguisher, for my case, there is 3 in the 3 different areas in the lab. Even the pantry has one too. One of the first few things that happen to all staffs when joining a lab is a safety briefing, after that, safety manuals will be passed to them for reading. This shows that safety is definitely not an issue to be joke with.

In a recent fire evacuation drill, all staff knew where to go to in case of an evacuation. There was also fire extinguisher demonstration where a volunteer demonstrated on how to use a fire extinguisher to fight a fire.

With that knowledge on safety, i believe those who are not sure of their safety features in their lab should go check it out.




Picture of a Biological Safety Cabinet (BSC Class2)

Cheers,

Yeo Tiong Han
TG01

Observations always involve theory. ~Edwin Hubble


Reference
BioSafety Levels,The Ohio State University, Retrieved on 10 July 2009 From
http://academic.marion.ohio-state.edu/sciencefair/BSL.htm

Picture of the BSC Retrieved on 10July 2009 from :
http://images.pennnet.com/articles/cr/thm/th_0804crcertification04.jpg

Intro to Biological Safety Cabinets, The Baker Company, Retrieved on 10July 2009 from:
http://www.bakerco.com/resources/intro.php