standard microbiological practices biological safety bio safety level 3 bsl 3 BSL 3

Standard Microbiological Practices for Bio Safety Level 3

1. Access to the laboratory is limited or restricted at the discretion of the laboratory director when experiments are in progress.

2. Persons wash their hands after handling infectious materials, after removing gloves, and when they leave the laboratory.

3. Eating, drinking, smoking, handling contact lenses, and applying cosmetics are not permitted in the laboratory. Persons who wear contact lenses in laboratories should also wear goggles or a face shield. Food is stored outside the work area in cabinets or refrigerators designated for this purpose only.

4. Mouth pipetting is prohibited; mechanical pipetting devices are used.

5. Policies for the safe handling of sharps are instituted.

6. All procedures are performed carefully to minimize the creation of aerosols.

7. Work surfaces are decontaminated at least once a day and after any spill of viable material.

8. All cultures, stocks, and other regulated wastes are decontaminated before disposal by an approved decontamination method, such as autoclaving. Materials to be decontaminated outside of the immediate laboratory are placed in a durable, leakproof container and closed for transport from the laboratory. Infectious waste from BSL-3 laboratories should be decontaminated before removal for off-site disposal.

9. An insect and rodent control program is in effect