BL 1 Safety Procedures Information Sheet

	Biosafety Level 1 is suitable for work involving well-characterized agents not known to consistent cause not known to consistently cause disease in healthy adult humans, and of minimal potential hazard to laboratory personnel and the environment. The laboratory is not necessarily separated from the general traffic patterns in the building. Work is generally conducted on open bench tops using standard microbiological practices. Special containment equipment or facility design is neither required nor generally used. Laboratory personnel have specific training in the procedures conducted in the laboratory and are supervised by a scientist with general training in microbiology or a related science.

The following standard and special practices, safety equipment and facilities apply to agents assigned to Biosafety Level 1:

Laboratory Safety Procedures List – Biosafety Level 1

1.	Access to the laboratory is limited or restricted at the discretion of the laboratory director when experiments or work 
              with cultures and specimens are in progress.

2.	Persons wash their hands after they handle viable materials, after removing gloves, and before leaving the laboratory.  

3.	Eating, drinking, smoking, handling contact lenses, applying cosmetics, and storing  food for human use are not permitted in the 
laboratory.  Persons who wear contact lenses in the laboratories should safety glasses.  Food is stored outside the laboratory in cabinets or refrigerators designated and used for this purpose only.  

4.	Mouth pipetting is prohibited; mechanical pipetting devices shall be used

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

6.	All procedures are performed carefully to minimize the creations of splashes or 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 to be placed in a durable, leak proof container and closed for transport from the laboratory. Materials to be decontaminated outside of the immediate laboratory are packaged in accordance with applicable local, state, and federal regulations before removal from the facility.

9.	A biohazard sign must be posted at the entrance to the laboratory whenever infectious agents are present. The sign must include the name of the agent(s) in use and the name and phone number of the investigator.

10.	An insect and rodent control program is in effect (see Appendix G). of most current copy of NIH guidelines at       
           http://www4.od.nih.gov/oba/rac/guidelines/guidelines.html