Biocontainment
The concept of biocontainment, also called laboratory biosafety, pertains to microbiology laboratories in which the physical containment of highly pathogenic organisms (bacteria) or agents (viruses) is required, usually by isolation in environmentally and biologically secure cabinets or rooms, to prevent accidental infection of workers or release into the surrounding community during scientific research. The term "biocontainment" was coined in 1985[1], but the concept stretches back at least to the 1940s.
Primary containment is the protection of personnel and the immediate laboratory environment from exposure to infectious agents and is provided by good microbiological technique and the use of appropriate safety equipment, such as biological safety cabinets. Secondary containment is the protection of the environment external to the laboratory from exposure to infectious materials and is provided by a combination of facility design and operational practices.
Biological safety cabinets (BSC), first commercially available in 1950[2], are fairly common devices designed to provide effective primary biocontainment in laboratories working with highly infectious agents. Three general levels and types have been devised (Class I, Class II, and Class III).
Biosafety suites are suites of laboratory rooms which are essentially equivalent to large Class III cabinets in which positive pressure personnel suits ("space suits") serve as the "outside" environment for workers. Examples include the biosafety suites at USAMRIID at Fort Detrick, Maryland and the Maximum Containment Facility (MCF) of the CDC in Atlanta, Georgia.
[edit] See also
- Biosafety
- Biosafety level
- Biosecurity
- Biological hazard
- Safety engineering
- Security engineering
- Select agent
[edit] References
Citations
- ^ "Biocontainment”, Merriam Webster Online
- ^ Wedum, A.G. (1969), "The Detrick experience as a guide to the probable efficacy of P4 microbiological containment facilities for studies on microbial recombinant DNA molecules"; J Am Biol Safety Assoc;1:7-25.
Also:
- Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (1999), 4th Edition, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
- The 2011 International Conference on Biocontainment Facilities
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