Working in Biosafety Level 3 and 4 Laboratories

The first training manual for new staff working in BSL3/4 labs, this book is based on a course which has been adopted as a standard throughout the EU. This book will be a much welcomed tool worldwide to train staff and prevent accidents in BSL3/4 settings. This is a training manual for staff working in BSL3/4 laboratories. It is based on a course developed in the frame of COST Action B28 and subsequently funded by DG Home Affairs. It covers bio-containment, hazard criteria, the categorization of microbes, technical specifi cations for BSL-3 and ABSL-3 laboratories, personal protective equipment, and shipping BSL-3 and BSL-4 organisms according to UN and IATA regulations. It also examines the effi cacy of inactivation procedures, fumigation, learning from a history of lab accidents, handling samples submitted for diagnostic testing, and bridging the gap between the requirements of bio-containment and diagnostics. The result is a welcome tool for training new personnel, as well as a useful reference for all permanent staff working in BSL3/4 labs. The first training manual for new staff working in BSL3/4 labs. This guide is based on a course developed in 2007 by the EU COST action group 28b which serves as a standard for many courses BSL3/4 training courses worldwide. The four-day course consists of lectures and practical training with the lecturers covering all the different possibilities of organising a BSL-3/4 lab including the adaptation to the local requirements of biosafety, safety at work, and social regulations. This book covers bio-containment, hazard criteria and categorisation of microbes, technical specifications of BSL-3 laboratories and ABSL-3 laboratories, personal protective gear, shipping BSL-3 and BSL-4 organisms according to UN and IATA regulations, efficacy of inactivation procedures, fumigation, learning from a history of lab accidents, handling samples that arrive for diagnostic testing and bridging the gap between the requirements of bio-containment and diagnostics. Course participants can not only use the book for their actual training event but it will remain a useful reference throughout their career in BSL3/4 labs.