Laboratory Products Focus WHICH IS THE BEST CONTAINMENT EQUIPMENT FOR THE LABORATORY?


Many systems offer chemical or biological protection for personnel, environment and product. These systems are generically referred as safety barriers and, according to the risk level of the product to be handled, one or more safety barriers should be used.


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In order to choose suitable containment equipment that meets the needs of the user, whether a biological safety cabinet or a laboratory isolator, it is essential to know the applications, use and nature of the products that will be handled inside it.


Primary Safety Barriers are those designed to eliminate or reduce exposure to biological and/or chemical materials. This category notably includes biological safety cabinet classes I, II and III, isolators, protective suits, respirators, masks, and safety goggles.


Several types of containment equipment are currently available for any given application, so it is ultimately up to the laboratory manager to decide on the preferred equipment or the one that best adapts to its work method and protocol for risk assessment and prevention.


This article aims to offer the decision makers purchasing this type of equipment an insight into the key factors that allow them to choose the system that best meets their needs.


Table 1: Summary of biohazard levels


BSL Risk of infection to the human being*


BSL1 No or low individual risk A microorganism that is unlikely to cause human or animal disease.


BSL2 Moderate individual risk A pathogen that can cause human or animal disease but is unlikely to be a serious hazard to laboratory workers, the community, livestock or the environment.


Author Details:


Nuria Batet, Product Manager Laboratory Division. Telstar Life Science Solutions nbatet@telstar.eu


BSL3 High individual risk A pathogen that usually causes serious human or animal disease but does not ordinarily spread from one infected individual to another.


BSL4 High individual risk


A pathogen that usually causes serious human or animal disease and that can be readily transmitted from one individual to another, directly or indirectly.


Risk of propagation to the collective*


No or low community risk


Low community risk Laboratory exposures may cause serious infection, but effective treatment and preventive measures are available and the risk of spread of infection is limited.


Moderate community risk


Effective treatment and preventive measures are available.


High community risk Effective treatment and preventive measures are not usually available


Prevention & Treatment* Not necessary


HOW CAN USER KNOW WHICH CONTAINMENT EQUIPMENT IS BEST SUITED TO THEIR NEEDS?


In order to choose suitable containment equipment that meets the needs of the user, whether a biological safety cabinet or a laboratory isolator, it is essential to know the applications, use and nature of the products that will be handled inside it.


Before deciding on the equipment they require, users must ask themselves a number of key questions:


Nature of the products to be handled and their risk level


For biological samples, several containment levels are applicable according to the virulence of the pathogenic agent being handled. In order to select the containment


*Definitions done by the WHO (World Health Organization) in the Laboratory biosafety manual. Third edition.


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