Biological Safety
Terms
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- Purpose of biosafety
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- Safety from exposure to infectious agents.
- Protect employees from hazards associated with biohazardous agents.
- Assure that biohazardous activities conducted according to accepted standards. - What is biosafety?
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- Protection against exposure to infectious agents
- Covers laboratory staff, community, environment
- Combination of: engineering controls, administrative controls, procedures and practices (SOPs), PPE - What is risk?
- Probability of an adverse health effect as a result of exposure to hazardous substance.
- Biological Classifications
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Bacteria
Viruses
Fungi
Parasites
Rickettsial
Prions - What is risk assessment?
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- Action/series of actions to recognize/identify hazards and to measure risk/probability that something will happen because of that hazard.
- Plan for safety - Why do a risk assessment?
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1. Determine appropriate Risk Group for agent
2. Evaluate risk to personnel
3. Determine if appropriate containment equipment and facilities are available
4. Identify appropriate safe practices and PPE for work - Evaluation process of risk assessment
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- What might happen?
- Likelihood of it happening?
- If it happened, how serious would it be?
- What actions need to be taken? - What is acceptable risk?
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- Safe if risks associated are judged acceptable
- Measuring risk is objective
- Judging acceptability of risk is subjective because it involves personal and social value judgments - Factors associated with assessing risk
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- Agent
- Host
- Environment - Risk assessment for work wth biohazardous agents/materials
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- What is known about agent/material?
- Associated with infections, toxicity, allergies?
- What role does physical environment and work activity play in assessing risk?
- Preventive measures available?
- Do barriers, PPE, prophylaxis offer protection?