About Biosafety levels (BSL):
- Biosafety levels (BSL), also known as biological safety levels or biohazard levels, define the necessary containment precautions for handling infectious agents in laboratory settings.
- They’re a mandatory requirement in any biological research facility.
- Biosafety levels contribute to the isolation of dangerous organisms and lethal agents.
- The levels of containment range from the lowest biosafety level 1 (BSL-1), to the highest at level 4 (BSL-4).
- Each BSL lab level builds upon the previous level—thereby creating layer upon layer of constraints and barriers.
- These lab levels are determined by the following:
- Risks related to containment
- Severity of infection
- Transmissibility
- Nature of the work conducted
- Origin of the microbe
- Agent in question
- Route of exposure
- BSL-1: It applies to laboratory settings in which personnel work with low-risk microbes that pose little to no threat of infection in healthy adults. Because of this, BSL-1 labs typically do not need to be isolated from surrounding facilities.
- BSL-2: It covers all laboratories that work with agents associated with human diseases — that is, pathogenic or infectious organisms — that pose a moderate health hazard if inhaled, ingested, or exposed to the skin.
- BSL-3: BSL-3 laboratory typically conducts research into or work on microbes that are either indigenous or exotic and can cause serious or potentially lethal disease through inhalation.
- BSL-4: BSL-4 labs are rare. As the highest level of biological safety, BSL-4 labs work with highly dangerous and exotic microbes. Infections caused by these types of microbes are often fatal and come without treatment or vaccines.
- At the lowest level of biosafety, precautions may consist of regular hand-washing and minimal protective equipment.
- At higher biosafety levels, precautions may include airflow systems, multiple containment rooms, sealed containers, positive pressure personnel suits, established protocols for all procedures, extensive personnel training, and high levels of security to control access to the facility.
