08-26-2013, 10:30 PM
There are different biosafety level requirements in laboratories for specific control on the spread of harmful biological agents and for safety precautions to be observed in particular during experiments. Such are enclosed facilities used for isolation and biocontainment preventions.
It is interesting to know that the first ever biosafety cabinet was invented by Hubert Kaempf Jr. in 1943 who was, at that time, a United States Army soldier. He was under Director Dr. Arnold G. Wedum and they had their experiments in the United States Army Biological Warfare Laboratory, located in Camp Detrick, Maryland. Kaempf later transferred to H.K. Ferguson Co., a sheet metal department.
As a result, several meetings and conferences were conducted as the years went by. In 1964, such gatherings were held in government installations, which were surprisingly not related to any biological warfare program. For the next decade, federal agencies which conducted and sponsored research about pathogenic microbes were invited, and soon had their representatives attend the conferences. Eventually, industrial complexes, hospitals, private laboratories, and universities joined in.
In 1983, a formal organization was created, named the American Biological Safety Associated (ABSA), which was established officially the year after, together with their constitution and bylaws. In 2008, there were a total of 1,600 members affiliated to the organization.
Classifying a microorganism or procedure in biosafety level is determined by its primary risks, which includes infectivity, transmissibility, severity of the disease, and the nature of the work conducted.
For the purpose of specific containment controls, there are three major requirements for each biosafety level. According to the Center of Disease and Control (CDC) these are:
a. Laboratory practices
b. Safety equipment
c. Facility construction
The biosafety level 4 laboratories are the fewest among the three others as these are the facilities where the highest risk of microbe infectivity experiments is done. Worldwide, there are less than a hundred BL-4 labs while a few thousands of BL-3s. Most of these labs are found in the United States and Europe.
It is interesting to know that the first ever biosafety cabinet was invented by Hubert Kaempf Jr. in 1943 who was, at that time, a United States Army soldier. He was under Director Dr. Arnold G. Wedum and they had their experiments in the United States Army Biological Warfare Laboratory, located in Camp Detrick, Maryland. Kaempf later transferred to H.K. Ferguson Co., a sheet metal department.
As a result, several meetings and conferences were conducted as the years went by. In 1964, such gatherings were held in government installations, which were surprisingly not related to any biological warfare program. For the next decade, federal agencies which conducted and sponsored research about pathogenic microbes were invited, and soon had their representatives attend the conferences. Eventually, industrial complexes, hospitals, private laboratories, and universities joined in.
In 1983, a formal organization was created, named the American Biological Safety Associated (ABSA), which was established officially the year after, together with their constitution and bylaws. In 2008, there were a total of 1,600 members affiliated to the organization.
Classifying a microorganism or procedure in biosafety level is determined by its primary risks, which includes infectivity, transmissibility, severity of the disease, and the nature of the work conducted.
For the purpose of specific containment controls, there are three major requirements for each biosafety level. According to the Center of Disease and Control (CDC) these are:
a. Laboratory practices
b. Safety equipment
c. Facility construction
The biosafety level 4 laboratories are the fewest among the three others as these are the facilities where the highest risk of microbe infectivity experiments is done. Worldwide, there are less than a hundred BL-4 labs while a few thousands of BL-3s. Most of these labs are found in the United States and Europe.
![[+]](https://www.biotechnologyforums.com/images/netpen-pro/collapse_collapsed.png)