Introduction

Biohazardous and infectious (or potentially infectious) agents are routinely handled and manipulated in biomedical and animal laboratories. Biohazards include human samples and tissue cultures, bacteria, viruses, prions, parasites, toxins, recombinant DNA (rDNA) - which is used in expression vectors such as plasmids, infected or transfected/transduced cells, infected human or animal tissues, transgenic animals, and any material contaminated with a biohazardous agent.

Use of UV lamps in Biosafety Cabinets at UVM

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How should I dispose of laboratory waste (such as empty well plates and Eppendorf pipette tips) that have not come into contact with any hazardous materials?

BSC training is compulsory for researchers working in laboratories with a minimum biosafety level BSL2. Online training is available at: http://esf.uvm.edu/courses/  Please, log in with your net ID and password and take the online training "Safe Use of Biosafety Cabinets".

If your cabinet has failed the certification, it means that it is not performing as it should. This may compromise the quality of your work (e.g, contaminated cells) or expose you and the environment to aerosols from infectious agents (e.g., exhaust filter damaged). You should not resume work within the BSC until it is repaired and passes the certification. Contact Environmental Safety at safety@uvm.edu if you have any question or concern.

Most BSCs (except Class I) are equipped with HEPA filters that supply clean air to the working area. If the supply filter is damaged or leaks, dirty air may be supplied to the BSC, contaminating the area. Schedule a certification with a specialized technician to check the performance of your BSC.

While all types of biological safety cabinets protect personnel and the environment from exposure to contaminants within the cabinet, clean benches do not. In clean benches, contaminated air is directly blown towards the user and surrounding environment. For this purpose, clean benches should only be used to conduct work that requires sterile conditions (such as preparing sterile solutions) but that does not involve manipulation of biohazards, chemical hazards or radioactivity. 

Work with biohazardous materials involving the use of volatile chemicals and/or radioactivity should exclusively be conducted in a biological safety cabinet that is vented outside the building.

Ducted Class II Type A2, Class II Type B1 and B2 (always hard-ducted), and Class III BSCs may be used with different amounts of chemicals/radioactive materials. Please review the following table for more specific details:

Ergonomics

According to the Center for Disease Control, ergonomics is the scientific study of people at work. The goal of ergonomics is to reduce stress and eliminate injuries and disorders associated with the overuse of muscles, bad posture, and repeated tasks.

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