The role of the biological safety cabinet can be up to three types of protections:
1. Protection of the worker - from harmful elements inside the cabinet
2. Protection of the product inside the cabinet - to explain contamination at work, in an experiment or under guidance
3. Protection of the environment - from various pollutants that are created inside the biological cabinet
Types of Biological Safety Cabinet
The biological safety cabinet are divided into 3 classes, each group defining the type of protection:
Class I biological safety cabinet
The front opening of the cabinet is open, and there is an air flow from the room inside. A lid
with or without gloves can be fitted on the opening.The cabinet protects the worker and the environment only.
This cabinet does not protect the sterility of the product.The protection of the worker is done by the flow of air from the room inwards to the hood through the front opening.
Class II biological safety cabinets
The front opening is open and there is a vertical laminar air flow inside the cabinet.This hood provides protection for the employee, the environment and the product.The principle of protection of this cabinet is in the flow of air from the room to the hood space.
Class II itself is divided into 4 groups: A1, A2, B1, B2.
The differences between these subgroups are mostly in the air.
We will discuss the two main ones:
A2
70% of air recycling, 30% air emissions to the interior of the room
B2
0% of air recycling, 100% air emissions out of the room [by connecting to the building's air conditioning
ducts]
Of all of them Class II A2 is the most commonly used.
Class III biological safety cabinet
Sealed glove compartments. Both incoming and outgoing air are filtered through a HEPA filter. There is maximum protection for the employee, the environment and also the sterility of the product.
How To Choose BIOLOGICAL CABINETS
You must ask the following questions:
1. What is the type of biological factor according to the risk groups.
2. Is there in addition to the biological risk also a chemical risk or radiation risks.
3. Is it necessary to defend the experiment itself.
4. Is it necessary to limit the release of aerosols generated in the experiment.
5. Are there any special requirements of the workplace.
6.What is the working width required for the cabinet
How to work properly
The work must be planned in advance, and a labeling list of equipment, materials, and order of operations must be prepared
-Avoid interfering with the air barrier.
-Avoid moving people in the room.
-Take advantage of the one-way flow of air. Use sterile work techniques.
-Turn on the cabinet at least 5 minutes before starting work.
-Insert only necessary equipment and materials.
-Wait an additional 3 minutes to rinse the equipment in the filtered air.
- Perform the work calmly.
-At the end of the work, wait another 3 minutes for the air to rinse.
Protect workers and the laboratory from bacteria. Book now biological safety cabinets
A biological safety cabinet [BSC] is a primary engineering control used to protect personnel against biohazardous or infectious agents and to help maintain quality control of the material being worked with as it filters both the inflow and exhaust air. It is sometimes referred to as a laminar flow or tissue culture hood.
These filtered cabinets are primarily designed to protect against exposure to particulates or aerosols. A portion of the air in most BSCs is recirculated back into the lab through its exhaust HEPA filter. This purifies the air of potentially infectious aerosols, animal dander, or both but does not reduce exposure to chemicals.
All procedures should be performed in a manner that reduces the generation of aerosolized material and prevents spills. Operations such as centrifugation, vortexing, sonication, and opening containers of infectious materials whose internal pressure may be different from the ambient pressure are known aerosol-generating procedures. These procedures should be conducted inside the BSC or additional measures must be available to mitigate the safety concern.
Contact the EHS representative assigned to your BSC or the EHS main line at [734] 647-1143 for guidance regarding proper BSC:
- Selection
- Placement
- Certification
- Maintenance
- Warranty repairs
- Use of biological safety cabinets
Standard Operating Procedures, Guidelines, and Manuals
The following documents may be required for your research operation, depending on what type of research you are performing, the potential hazards you and your staff will be exposed to, and the engineering controls you are implementing. Some of these documents are in a downloadable “Word” format so that you can print them for your operation as is, or download and modify them to meet your unique needs. When you click the link it will automatically go to the download file.
- Biosafety Cabinets Standard Operating Procedure
- Chemical Hygiene Plan
- Evaluation of Use of Natural Gas and Bunsen Burners Inside Biological Safety Cabinets
EHS Engineering Controls of Standard Care
- EHS Standard of Care # 1: Ventilation Engineering Controls
- EHS Standard of Care # 2: Unsafe Engineering Control Equipment]
- EHS Standard of Care # 3: Biological Safety Cabinet [BSC] Service Criteria
- EHS Standard of Care # 4: Biological Safety Cabinet [BSC] Maintenance
- EHS Standard of Care # 5: Biological Safety Cabinet [BSC] Warranty Work
- EHS Standard of Care # 6: Biological Safety Cabinet [BSC] Decommissioning for Sale, Repair, Transfer or Scrap
- EHS Standard of Care #7: Purchasing a Biological Safety Cabinet [BSC]
- Placement of Biological Safety Cabinets with Dimensions
- Working Safely in a Biological Safety Cabinet
Lab Director Responsibilities
Lab directors [faculty/lab managers/supervisors] must:
- Perform due diligence to select the proper BSC for their laboratories
- Write the lab-specific BSC standard operating procedure that supplements the EHS Biosafety Cabinet SOP
- Designate a contact person to facilitate communication regarding the BSC annual inspections, routine maintenance, and other functions EHS performs
- Train lab personnel to properly use the BSC
- Maintain certification and training documentation for the BSC
- Report all problems with the BSC to EHS at [734] 647-1143
- Keep personnel from using a BSC when it is:
- Posted as “Out of Service”
- Broken
- In Alarm
- Past due in its certification
- Report all accidents and
complete the:
- Illness or Injury Report form
- Incident and Near Miss Report Form
Lab Personnel Responsibilities
Lab personnel must:
- Follow the lab-specific BSC standard operating procedures as well as the EHS Biosafety Cabinet SOP
- Use the BSC as instructed by the lab director
- Notify all problems with the BSC to your lab director
- Refrain
from using a BSC, when it is:
- Posted as “Out of Service”
- Broken
- In Alarm
- Past due in its certification
- Report all accidents to your lab director immediately
Certification
Biological safety cabinets must be inspected and certified by EHS:
- When newly installed
- After repairs
- After being moved
- Annually
If your BSC has not been certified within the last year, or if you have any questions regarding BSCs, call EHS at [734] 647-1143.