Laboratory Researchers – Personal Protective Equipment Requirements PPE to be worn at all times: Job/Tasks Working in a laboratory where hazardous materials are used 
Additional PPE requirement when: Job/Tasks Working with hazardous materials in all 
laboratories 
Working with larger volumes (>1L) corrosive or toxic liquids inside chemical fume hood 
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Working directly with pyrophoric and 
water reactive chemicals inside chemical fume hood or glove box Potential Exposures
Contamination (foot, leg, clothing, eyes) Potential Exposures
Contamination of personal clothing Chemical, biological, or radioactive material contamination (hands, eyes)
Splashing (eyes, face) Contamination/ burns to unprotected skin (hands, wrists) Burns (hands, clothing, eyes, body) Working with cryogenic chemicals 
Cold burns (hands, body, face) 
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Personal Protective Equipment
Closed‐toe, solid top shoes Long pants or clothing that covers the body to the ankles Safety glasses or prescription glasses Gloves if touching potentially contaminated equipment
Personal Protective Equipment
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Lab coat Gloves – nitrile, exam style Safety glasses 
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Chemical goggles Lab coat Faceshield if under pressure or outside fume hood Gloves – utility grade nitrile or neoprene over nitrile exam style
Wear non‐synthetic clothing Flame resistant lab coat Nitrile gloves Flight gloves, nomex or related aramid fiber gloves (larger volumes) Safety glasses or chemical goggles, add faceshield if splashing can occur Portable blast shield as necessary 
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Thermal insulated gloves Lab coat Apron (larger volumes) Safety glasses Faceshield (larger volumes)
Job/Tasks Working with hot objects or equipment Working with an apparatus under high pressure 
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Working with highly reactive or explosive chemicals inside chemical fume hood 
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Potential Exposures
Burns (hands, eyes, body) Cuts from glass/ material fragments (face, hands, body) Chemical contamination (eyes, face, hands, body) Cuts from glass/ material fragments (face, hands, body) Chemical contamination (eyes, face, hands, body) Fire 
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Minor chemical spill cleanup (<1 liter of low hazard chemical, and respiratory protection is not required) 
Chemical contamination (hands, clothing, shoes, eyes) UV Light 
Burns to the hands/wrist/face/eyes/neck 
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Working with radioactive materials 
Contamination of personal clothing Radioactive material contamination (hands, wrists, skin, eyes, etc.) 
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Personal Protective Equipment
Heat resistant gloves Lab coat Safety glasses Face shield as necessary
Safety glasses or goggles Faceshield Utility gloves Rubber apron as necessary Portable blast shield as necessary
Goggles and faceshield Rubber apron Utility grade gloves (neoprene, butyl, nitrile, nomex, cut resistant, as appropriate) Flame resistant lab coat when fire hazard exists Portable blast shield as necessary
Safety glasses or goggles Double nitrile gloves, or utility grade gloves over nitrile exam gloves Shoe covers as necessary Lab coat
Safety glasses or prescription glasses Full face shield (polycarbonate) Lab coat buttoned up all the way Nitrile gloves Lab coat Gloves (double gloves recommended) Safety glasses Personal Radiation Badge as appropriate Survey Meter as appropriate Benchtop radiation shielding as appropriate
Job/Tasks Performing iodinations with volatile radioactive sodium iodide 
Potential Exposures
Contamination of personal clothing Radioactive material contamination (hands, wrists, skin, eyes, etc.) Inhalation of volatile material Personal Protective Equipment
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Lab coat Double Gloves 
Safety glasses Sleeve Covers Shoe Covers 
Personal Radiation Badge Benchtop radiation shielding Survey Meter with scintillation probe
Operating diagnostic x‐ray generating Lab coat  Radiation exposure equipment (fluoroscopy, patient Gloves procedures, etc.) Safety glasses Personal Radiation Badge Survey Meter as appropriate Lead apron or use of structural radiation shielding as appropriate
Working with open table Class 3B Lasers  Ocular exposure
Protective eyewear of proper wavelength and optical density
Working with open table Class 4 Lasers Protective eyewear of proper wavelength and optical density  Ocular and skin exposure Protection for skin from UV lasers Face and forearm skin protection
Biohazard experiments are classified based on risk and a starting point for risk assessment is the assignment of a biohazard to a specific Risk Group. There are 4 Risk Groups (RG’s) based on risk to the individual and the community. RG1 is the lowest risk and RG4 is the highest. Risk Group assignments for human pathogens can be accessed at: http://www.absa.org/riskgroups/index.html For other experiments, Yale researchers can refer to the Gradations of Risk Table at the end of this document.
Work with RG1 materials that do not  No routes of exposure are  Gloves cause disease in humans (i.e. non‐
associated with RG1 materials.  Lab coat pathogenic strains of E. coli, Bacillus  RG1 materials could represent  Safety glasses subtillus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a risk to individuals have rodent cell lines) compromised immunity or who may have allergies to the materials.
Experiments involving RG2 agents, that  Percutaneous, ingestion, and  Lab coat or gown represent a moderate risk to the eye, nose or mouth exposure. Job/Tasks individual and may cause disease of 
varying severity. Examples of RG2 agents include Plasmodium falciparum, Salmonella typhimurium, Herpes Simplex Virus and Cryptococcus neoformans) Working with human blood, tissues, 
body fluids, human cell lines, or Risk Group 2 bloodborne pathogens, utilizing Universal Precautions and BSL2 containment. Experiments with Risk Group 3 agents (i.e. West Nile Virus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Histoplasma capsulatum) in cell culture or animal laboratories 
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Performing work with Risk Group 4 
agents (i.e. Ebola virus, Marburg virus) or work that requires BSL4 containment. Risk Group 4 agents represent a very high risk to the individual and are also a risk to the community. Potential Exposures
Aerosol production can create potential risk of inhalation and contamination of surrounding surfaces, which could lead to self inoculation through contaminated hands.
Exposure to potentially infectious materials by puncture with contaminated sharp, through non‐intact skin, or splash to mucous membranes of the eyes, nose or mouth
All 4 routes of exposure may be applicable. Inhalation is of particular concern for pathogens classified at Risk Group 3. BSL3 containment practices and specialized laboratories are required for this work. All work with RG3 agents must be conducted under primary containment.
All routes of exposure (percutaneous, inhalation, ingestion, and via facial mucous membranes) may be involved with these experiments. Personal Protective Equipment
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Gloves Safety glasses Additional PPE may be required based on risk to the individual 
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Gloves – nitrile exam Safety glasses Mask/ face shield where splashing possible Lab coat or gown 
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Back‐fastening gown Two pairs of exam gloves Full face protection (face shield, or safety glasses and mask) Respiratory protection, protective sleeve covers, booties, jump suits and other protective clothing may be required based on risk to the individual 
Work with Risk Group 4 Agents is not allowed at Yale University. GRADATIONS OF RISK TABLE FOR BIOSAFETY LEVELS
A Comparison of the Biosafety Levels Frequently Utilized for Common Biohazard Experiments
BSL1
BSL1
BSL1
BSL1
BSL1
BSL1/BSL2
Bridge
BSL2
BSL2
BSL2
BSL2
BSL2
BSL2
BSL2
BSL2/BSL3
Bridge
BSL3
BSL3
BSL3
BSL3/BSL4
Bridge
BSL4
BSL4
Non-infectious materials (benign research materials that include non-infectious strains of bacteria and yeast used for cloning experiments, nonconjugative strains of E. coli, Sacchromyces cerevisiae)
Well characterized cells and tissues from sources other than human or non-human primates (includes cell lines from rodents, dogs, and rabbits)
Extracted DNA or RNA not associated with pathogenicity, toxicity or infectivity (note: +ssRNA from human pathogens should be treated as
infectious, and must be handled with caution)
Research animals, such as transgenic rodents, that have been bred specifically for research purposes and have been documented to be free of
zoonoses
Recombinant DNA materials based on Risk Group 2 Pathogens that have less than 50% of the pathogen’s genome and designed to be replication
defective (lowering of the containment level in these cases from the starting point of the parent pathogen requires confirmation that the host range
of the vector has not been expanded and the inserted genomic material won’t present a risk to those handling the material)
 Allergens, toxins of biological origin with an LD50 > 100 ug/kg body weight
 Opportunistic human pathogens that infect only immunosuppressed hosts
 Strict animal pathogens that pose risk to other animals who may be housed in the same room, suite or facility (i.e. Mouse Hepatitis Virus)
Well characterized continuous human and non-human primate cell lines
Defective rDNA pathogen vectors that have been designed and verified to be replication defective
Toxins of biological origin with an LD50 < 100 ug/kg body weight
Cells that have been transformed with human oncogenic viruses or those that containing oncogenic materials
Primary cells, tissues and body fluids from humans and non-human primates (potentially infectious materials that may contain Bloodborne and
other pathogens)
Known Risk Group 2 classed human pathogens with route of exposure of ingestion, through the skin, or via the mucous membranes (and samples
or specimens from patients infected with these agents)
Known Risk Group 2 classed human pathogens with an aerosol route of exposure
 Risk Group 2 human pathogens linked to an airborne Laboratory Associated Infection (considered unnatural route of transmission when
compared infections outside of the laboratory). Aerosolized Rabies virus cases
 Communicable Risk Group 2 human pathogens that may pose elevated risk to those outside the laboratory (Poliovirus, Vaccinia virus)
 Defective or attenuated Risk Group 3 human pathogens (requires verification of lack of pathogenicity and absence of high risk potential
contaminants, i.e. wild type pathogen also in the laboratory)
Non-airborne Risk Group 3 human pathogens
Risk Group 3 human pathogens with a known airborne route of exposure or associated with an aerosol associated Laboratory Associated Infection
Unknown or poorly characterized specimens or materials from patients with high risk communicable diseases
 Attenuated or defective Risk Group 4 human pathogens (requires verification of attenuation)
 Risk Group 3 human pathogens in an animal model that elevates the risk (Venezuelen Equine Encephalitis virus in horses)
 Risk Group 3 human pathogens that are resistant to prophylaxis (XDR Mycobacterium tuberculosis)
 Risk Group 4 human pathogens that have a known effective immunization (i.e. Junin virus)
Risk Group 4 human pathogens
Specimens from patients infected with Risk Group 4 human pathogens
Gradations of Risk Table for Biosafety Levels Yale Environmental Health & Safety 135 College Street, Suite 100 203‐785‐3550 ehs.yale.edu