To maintain a safe work environment, it is important to assess the risks and dangers within the lab and reduce those risks by implementing Primary and Secondary Barriers or control measures.
Primary Barriers consist of safety equipment or engineering controls such as a Biosafety cabinet, fume hood, and ventilation systems. Procedures are also a form of primary barriers because they implement
SOP’s which help prevent direct contact between you and the agent. Ideally, if primary barriers are sufficient and effective, Secondary Barriers such as PPE should not be contaminated.
Secondary Barriers consist of personal protective equipment because these elements act as a physical barrier between your body and the materials you are working with. PPE is your last line of defense which means that any contact with a material is in large part due to failure of a Primary Barrier.
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Face Protection consists of: o Glasses o Goggles o Face Shield o Splatter Guard o Respirator
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Full Body Protection consists of: o Lab Coat o Full Body Coveralls o Fully Encapsulated(Supplied Air)
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Hand Protection consists of: o Latex Rubber Gloves o Nitrile Gloves o Rubber Outer Gloves
Recommended Levels of PPE (Secondary Barriers)
This Biosafety level is a basic level of containment that relies on standard microbiological practices with no special primary or secondary barriers recommended other than a sink for washing of hands.
Primary Barriers: N/A
Secondary Barriers:
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Hand Washing sink available

This Biosafety level is applicable to clinical, diagnostic, teaching and other laboratories in which work is done with a broad spectrum of indigenous moderate-risk agents. These agents are available within the community but are associated with causing human disease with varying levels of severity. Using good microbiological techniques, these agents can be used safely and often on an open bench top. Biosafety cabinets should be available for BSL-2 work as it is prudent and good practice to work with BSL-2 agents in a certified Biosafety cabinet of the appropriate type and rating. BSL-2 is often appropriate for work regarding human-derived blood and tissues where human cell lines which may contain pathogenic organisms or materials might be present. Again, prudent practices suggest that additional levels of containment be used if specific hazards are unknown.
Primary Barriers:
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Gloves
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Lab Coat (Decontamination required for reusable lab coats)
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Eye Protection (Appropriate Level)
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Face Protection (as necessary)
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Splash Shields (as necessary)
Secondary Barriers:

Hand Washing sink available
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Waste Decontamination Facilities
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Biosafety Cabinet available for use
This Biosafety level is applicable to clinical, diagnostic, teaching, research or production facilities in which work is done with indigenous or exotic agents with a potential for respiratory transmission and which may cause serious and potentially lethal infection. Primary hazards to personnel working with
BSL-3 agents include autoinoculation, ingestion and exposure to infectious aerosols. A larger emphasis is placed on primary and secondary barriers to provide an adequate level of protection. Typically, a BSL-3 containment level will have restricted access in addition to higher PPE levels.
Primary Barriers:
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Gloves
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Lab Coat (Decontamination required for reusable lab coats)

Eye Protection (Appropriate Level)
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Face Protection
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Splash Shields

Secondary Barriers:
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Hand Wash Sink
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Waste Decontamination Facilities
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Controlled access to the lab
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Biosafety Cabinet
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Gas-tight Aerosol Generation Chamber
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Additional Ventilation Requirements
This Biosafety level is applicable to work with dangerous and exotic agents that pose a high individual risk of life-threatening disease, which may be transmitted via the aerosol route and for which there is no available vaccine or therapy. Any agents which pose a similar risk or have identical antigenic relationship to agents of this category must also be regarded as BSL-4. Primary hazards include respiratory exposure to infectious aerosols, mucous membrane and broken skin exposure to infectious droplets, and autoinoculation.
Primary Barriers:

Standard level of PPE
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Fully Encapsulated, positive pressure supplied air body suit
Secondary Barriers:

Hand Wash Sink

Waste Decontamination Facilities

Controlled access to the lab

Biosafety Cabinet Class III
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Isolated area or building
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Special Ventilation Requirements
Respiratory Protection
Respiratory protection can consist of a face mask (dusk mask), a respirator that covers the nose and mouth, a full face respirator that also covers the eyes and a self contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) which is a method of supplied air through a full face mask. Knowing when to use the proper respiratory protection is important to ensure that your lungs are adequately protected for the hazards you are working with. The use of respirators requires a medical examination from a qualified physician and an annual fit test performed by EH&S. For more information on respiratory protection, please review the Respiratory Protection Program through EH&S.

Safety Equipment (Primary Barriers)
As mentioned above, primary barriers are those that include engineering controls, procedural based or a mechanical means to isolate the employee from exposure to a specific agent. Due to human error and the presence of additional risks, personal protective equipment (PPE) is also worn (Secondary Barriers) to further protect the employee from agent that is not prevented from the Primary Barriers. A wide variety of safety equipment is available to be used and in large part, depends on what Biosafety level, your research corresponds to. For questions on containment levels and recommended safety equipment, contact EH&S.
*D UE TO SPECIAL CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS AND FACILITY CONSTRAINTS , THE CAMPUS
IS CURRENTLY NOT APPROVING ANY CONTAINMENT LEVELS ABOVE BSL-2.
R EQUESTS FOR
BSL-3 AND BSL-4 WILL NOT BE APPROVED AT THIS TIME .