How do biosafety hoods work?

Biological safety cabinets (or biosafety cabinets) utilize HEPA filters to provide environmental, personnel and/or product protection. They can recirculate or exhaust filtered air, depending on your application, and are suitable for work with hazardous particulates like bacteria and viruses.

Do and don’ts of biosafety cabinet?

Things to remember when placing biological safety cabinets

• Air supply diffusers or exhaust vents should not be placed directly over or in front of BSCs.
• BSCs should be located out of the laboratory personnel traffic pattern. Preferably they are placed at the end of an aisle.
• BSCs should not be placed near an entryway.

What is the difference between laminar flow and biosafety cabinet?

Laminar Flow Hoods (Clean Benches) A Laminar Flow Hood (LFH), is not a biological safety cabinet. These devices do not provide any protection to the worker. They are designed to provide a sterile environment to protect the product. Air potentially contaminated with infectious agents may be blown towards the worker.

What is the principle of biosafety cabinet?

Containment. Laboratory biosafety practices are based on the principle of containment of biological agents to prevent exposure to laboratory workers and the outside environment. Primary containment protects the laboratory workers and the immediate laboratory environment from exposure to biological agents.

How many types of fume hoods are there?

A fume hood is typically a large piece of equipment enclosing five sides of a work area, the bottom of which is most commonly located at a standing work height. Two main types exist, ducted and recirculating (ductless).

How should fume hoods be used?

Avoid cross drafts and disruptive air currents in front of the fume hood. Ensure that windows and doors near the fume-hoods are CLOSED. Always keep work at least 15cm in from the opening of the fume hood. Use the sash as a safety shield when boiling materials or conducting an experiment with reactive chemicals.

Which is the best use for a fume hood?

Laboratory Fume Hoods. A properly operating and correctly used fume hood can reduce or eliminate exposure to volatile liquids, dusts, and mists. It is advisable to use a laboratory hood when working with all hazardous substances.

Why do we use biosafety cabinet?

A biological safety cabinet (BSC) is a primary engineering control used to protect personnel against biohazardous or infectious agents and to help maintain quality control of the material being worked with as it filters both the inflow and exhaust air.

What is the difference between Fume Hood and biosafety cabinet?

A chemical fume hood is designed to remove chemical fumes and aerosols from the work area while a biosafety cabinet is designed to provide both a clean work environment and protection for employees who create aerosols when working with infectious agents or toxins.

How many types of biosafety cabinets are there?

There are three kinds of safety cabinets, Classes I, II, and III. Class II and Class III biological safety cabinets provide personnel, environmental as well as product protection.

How do you sterilize a biosafety cabinet?

The cabinet must be completely cleared of any equipment, pipettes, waste, liquids and tubing. Decontaminate the surfaces of the BSC with an appropriate disinfectant, such as a 10% bleach solution followed by 70% ethanol solution.

When should a BSC be certified?

Biosafety Cabinets (BSCs) must be certified when: New equipment is installed, prior to first use. Annually. It has been moved to a new room.

How do you decontaminate a biosafety cabinet?

Decontamination of a BSC is performed to render it non-infectious and is achieved by exposing the work surfaces, exhaust filters, surfaces of the air plenums, and the fan unit to formaldehyde or hydrogen peroxide gas. The decontamination procedure is described in Annex G of the NSF/ANSI Standard 49.