Biosafety level

Biosafety level (pronounced: bio-safety level) is a set of biocontainment precautions required to isolate dangerous biological agents in an enclosed laboratory facility. The levels of containment range from the lowest biosafety level 1 (BSL-1) to the highest at level 4 (BSL-4).

Etymology

The term "Biosafety level" is derived from the English words "bio" meaning life, "safety" referring to the state of being safe from harm or danger, and "level" indicating a position on a real or imaginary scale.

Biosafety Level 1 (BSL-1)

Biosafety Level 1 (BSL-1) is suitable for work involving well-characterized agents not known to consistently cause disease in healthy adult humans, and of minimal potential hazard to laboratory personnel and the environment.

Biosafety Level 2 (BSL-2)

Biosafety Level 2 (BSL-2) is similar to BSL-1 and is suitable for work involving agents of moderate potential hazard to personnel and the environment.

Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3)

Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) is applicable to clinical, diagnostic, teaching, research, or production facilities where work is performed with indigenous or exotic agents which may cause serious or potentially lethal disease after inhalation.

Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4)

Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) is required for work with dangerous and exotic agents that pose a high individual risk of aerosol-transmitted laboratory infections, agents which cause severe to fatal disease in humans for which vaccines or other treatments are not available.

Related Terms

• Biocontainment
• Biological agent
• Laboratory safety
• Infectious disease

External links

• Medical encyclopedia article on Biosafety level
• Wikipedia's article - Biosafety level

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