(BIO)SAFETY

Coen Adema, Parasitology, Comparative Immunology

Co-chair Institutional Biosafety Committee UNM

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SAFETY

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Biosafety and Risk Groups

• Biosafety is the development and implementation of administrative policies, work practices, facility design, and safety equipment to prevent transmission of biologic agents to workers, other persons, and the environment.

• The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended an agent risk group classification for laboratory use that describes four general risk groups based on these principal characteristics and the route of transmission of the natural disease.

• The NIH Guidelines for Research involving Recombinant DNA Molecules established a comparable classification and assigned human etiological agents into four risk groups on the basis of hazard.

Risk Groups and Biosafety Levels • A risk assessment will determine the degree of correlation

between an agent’s risk group classification and biosafety level.

• Biosafety Levels (BSL) consist of combinations of laboratory practices and techniques, safety equipment, and laboratory facilities.

– The CDC publication Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL) has ranked four different biosafety levels based on risk, BSL-1 through BSL-4 (highest)

RISK GROUP CLASSIFICATION

NIH GUIDELINES FOR RESEARCH INVOLVING RECOMBINANT DNA

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION LABORATORY BIOSAFETY MANUAL

Risk Group 1 Agents that are not associated with disease in healthy adult humans.

(No or low individual and community risk) A microorganism that is unlikely to cause human or animal disease.

Risk Group 2 Agents that are associated with human disease which is rarely serious and for which preventive or therapeutic interventions are often available.

(Moderate individual risk; low community risk) A pathogen that can cause human or animal disease but is unlikely to be a serious hazard to laboratory workers, the community, livestock or the environment. Laboratory exposures may cause serious infection, but effective treatment and preventive measures are available and the risk of spread of infection is limited.

CLASSIFICATION OF INFECTIOUS MICROORGANISMS BY RISK GROUP

RISK GROUP CLASSIFICATION

NIH GUIDELINES FOR RESEARCH INVOLVING RECOMBINANT DNA

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION LABORATORY BIOSAFETY MANUAL

Risk Group 3 Agents that are associated with serious or lethal human disease for which preventive or therapeutic interventions may be available (high individual risk but low community risk).

(High individual risk; low community risk) A pathogen that usually causes serious human or animal disease but does not ordinarily spread from one infected individual to another. Effective treatment and preventive measures are available.

Risk Group 4 Agents that are likely to cause serious or lethal human disease for which preventive or therapeutic interventions are not usually available (high individual risk and high community risk).

(High individual and community risk) A pathogen that usually causes serious human or animal disease and that can be readily transmitted from one individual to another, directly or indirectly. Effective treatment and preventive measures are not usually available.

CLASSIFICATION OF INFECTIOUS MICROORGANISMS BY RISK GROUP

BE SAFE

• Your ADVISOR is responsible for safety and safety training

• Non-compliance can be costly to UNM and to health (you, coworkers, community)

• KNOW YOUR RESEARCH/USE COMMON SENSE

Biosafety Level 1

• is suitable for work involving well-characterized agents not known to consistently cause disease in immunocompetent adult humans, and present minimal potential hazard to laboratory personnel and the environment.

– Agents (e.g. E-coli K-12 strains, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Neurospora crassa, rodent cell lines not containing microorganisms)

Routes of Disease Transmission

Contact

• mucous membrane (mouth, nose, etc.)

• eyes

• skin abrasions/cuts

• parenteral (needlesticks)

• fomites - contaminated environmental surfaces

Ingestion

• contaminated food or drink

Aerosol •inhalation in lungs •Intranasal

Standard Microbiological Practices • Restrictive access to lab

• Authorized personnel only

• Principal Investigator / Supervisor:

• controls lab access

• Ensures compliance with institutional policies and procedures

• Ensures personnel have been advised of hazards and received appropriate safety training

• Hand washing

• Soap and water for 15 seconds

• After working with hazardous materials

• Before leaving the lab

• No eating, drinking or food storage in lab

• Use break rooms

• Common areas

• No mouth pipetting

• Use mechanical pipetting devices

Standard Microbiological Practices

• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to be used for laboratory procedures

– Lab coats (consider hydrophobic)

• Remove before leaving lab area

• Don’t launder at home

– Eye and face protection (goggles, mask, face shield or other splatter guard)

• When working outside the Biological Safety Cabinet (BSC)

• Decontaminate before reuse

– Use an appropriate disinfectant

– No shorts or sandals

Standard Microbiological Practices

• Handle sharps safely (needles / syringes, scalpel blades, glass pipettes, slides, etc.)

• Avoid manipulating needles after use

• No Bending

• No Shearing

• No Breaking

• No Recapping

• Place used needles and syringes in sharps containers consistent with 29 CFR 1910.1030 (OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard)

• Closable

• Puncture resistant

• Leak proof on sides and bottom

• Red container / fluorescent orange or orange-red BioHaz label

Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC)

• The IBC is a safety committee that reviews recombinant DNA (rDNA) and Risk Group 2 and higher biological research at UNM.

• The IBC has expertise with rDNA technology, microbiology, biological and animal containment, biosafety / general safety, public health, epidemiology, veterinary medicine and occupational medicine.

IBC Covered Research • rDNA manipulations in living cells (human, vertebrate

& Risk Group 2-4 microbes) in vivo and in vitro.

• (Microbial) pathogens of humans of Risk Group 2-4

• Select Microbial Agents & Biotoxins that are listed as potential bioterrorism agents

• USDA restricted (microbial) pathogens of domestic animals and plant crops

• Xenotransplants to humans or Human Gene Transfer / Therapy trials

• Non exempt experiments covered under the NIH Guideline