What is meant by bio safety and risk assessment?

Biological risk assessment is one of the key principles of biosafety. It is the process used to identify the hazardous characteristics of an infectious organism, the activities that could lead to exposure, the chances of contracting a disease after an exposure and the consequences of an infection. Risk assessment provides the necessary information to determine the appropriate biosafety measures (facility characteristics, microbiological practices, safety equipment, etc.).

Table of Contents Show

Risk Assessment
Risk Group Comparisons*

To conduct a qualitative risk assessment, firstly all risk factors must be identified and explored. This is deduced from the tendency to increase or decrease the risk of infection. When not all information is available a conservative approach should be adopted, applying the precautionary principle: "When an activity is potentially dangerous to health and/or the environment the necessary preventive measures must be taken even if the cause-effect relationships have not been established scientifically". When working with GMOs it is also necessary to observe the "case-by-case" basis, by which an assessment must be made of the risks associated with the GMOs for each case, and the "step-by-step" principle, by which GMOs can only be released when the assessment of previous stages shows that there is no risk in passing on to the next stage (Spanish Law 9/2003).

What must be done?

Basically, biological risk assessment can be done in five stages. The PI is responsible for assessing the risk of a given experimental procedure, establishing the necessary biosafety level and, by means of the declaració d'activitats, submitting the results to the IBC for review.

Further information.

Microorganisms can be classified in different risk groups on the basis of the following factors:

-pathogenicity and lethality, -virulence or attenuation, -infection mechanism, infectious dose and transmission paths, -concentration and scale, -culture conditions, -production of non-cellular derivatives, such as toxins and allergens, -reproduction cycles and survival structures, -host range -degree of natural or acquired immunity of the host, -resistance mechanism or sensitivity to antibiotics and to other specific agents, -existence of suitable prophylaxis and therapies, -existence of oncogene sequences, -virus production by cell lines,

-parasitic properties.

The UNC Charlotte Biosafety Program acknowledges that, in the course of research, biohazards are used regularly in biomedical and applied science research settings on campus. All research investigators planning to use biohazardous agents should be knowledgeable about the characteristics of these agents and apply lab-based risk assessments of potential for adverse health or safety issues for research personnel regardless of agent biosafety or risk level classification. A risk management plan can be determined using the biosafety levels promulgated by the CDC. See below for detailed information on the elements to be considered when assessing and selecting the appropriate risk and biosafety levels to proposed research involving biohazards.

RISK ASSESSMENT

RISK MANAGEMENT

Pathogen

The risks associated with the biohazard

Practices

Good microbiological work practices

Procedures

Additional risks posed by the proposed manipulations

Protective Equipment

Protective clothing and engineering controls or containment equipment

Personnel

Review of the people who will handle biohazards

Place

A review of the work location where biohazards will be handled

Risk Assessment

Risk assessment factors include the agent's pathogenicity (ability to cause infection) and virulence (the severity of disease), the infectious dose, the availability of prophylaxis, communicability, and stability within the environment.

The Risk Group Comparison Table below outlines the basic differences between each group.

Risk Group Comparisons*

	RISK GROUP 1	RISK GROUP 2	RISK GROUP 3	RISK GROUP 4
Characteristics	Does not cause disease in healthy adults.	Can cause infection of varying severity. Rarely lethal. Can be controlled using standard laboratory practices.	Agents associated with moderate to severe disease outcome. Can be lethal.	Capable of causing severe disease with lethal outcome.
Availability of Treatment	Not applicable.	Treatment may be available or host immune system is capable of controlling the infection.	Treatment may not be available.	Treatment is generally not available. Experimental treatment regimens possible.
Routes of Transmission	Not applicable.	Ingestion, through the skin, and via facial mucous membranes.	Same as Risk Group 2 plus inhalation.	Same as Risk Group 3.
Disease Severity to Individual	None in healthy adults.	Low to moderate.	Higher mortality and morbidity.	Highest mortality rates in this category.
Community Risk	Low	Low	Low to Moderate	Perception risk also very high.
Infections Dose	Not applicable	Generally high (variable)	Lower doses capable of infection
Example Agents	Non-conjugative strains of E. coli, Sacchromyces cerevisiae.	Parasites (i.e. Plasmodium, Trypanosomes, Leishmania) GI pathogens (Salmonella, Shigella) Bloodborne Pathogens (HBV, HCV, Borrelia).	Mycobacterium tuberculosis, West Nile Virus, Yellow Fever Virus, Rickettsia rickettsi.	Ebola virus, Marburg virus, Sabia virus, Equine Morbillivirus.
Rule of Thumb**	Never eat, drink or smoke in the laboratory.	Wear gloves, decontaminate work surfaces, avoid touching your face, make sure wounds are covered, work in a BSC, wear eye protection, work behind a shield.	Because of inhalation risk, perform all work inside of a biosafety cabinet. Wear respiratory protection if needed.	(Don’t do it in your state unless you have a federally approved BSL4 laboratory!) Risk Group 4 agents require significant containment.

* Source: National Institutes of Health Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories” (6th Edition).

**Source: Gwladys Caspar’s Quick Guide.

The table above highlights some of the factors associated with a pathogen or biohazard that need to be identified when performing a risk assessment. Additional pertinent information regarding a pathogen is needed to help answer worst-case scenario questions such as:

How can workers be exposed to the biohazard?
Is there a high probability of infection if exposed?
Are there any other potentially harmful effects associated with the biohazard (reproductive pathogen, tumorigenic material, potential effects to the cell cycle)
Are others outside the laboratory (close contacts) at risk in the event of an Laboratory Acquired Infection (LAI)?
How long will the biohazard survive if it is released outside of primary containment or outside of the laboratory?
How difficult will it be to inactivate the biohazard upon completion of work or in the event of a spill or release?

Many government and regulatory agencies have developed formal Risk Group classifications for infectious agents based on various risk factors. A good starting point for assembling the information needed to conduct a risk assessment is the home page of the American Biological Safety Association (ABSA).

Once on the ABSA home page, open the "Resources" link for access to the “Risk Group Database” and the following information:

Risk Group Classification for Infectious Agents
Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) Infectious Substances
Laboratory Centers for Disease Control – Canada
Bacteria – Viruses – Parasites – Fungi
Risk Group and Biosafety Level Definitions

Biosafety levels are designated in ascending order, by degree of protection provided to personnel, the environment, and the community. Standard microbiological practices are common to all laboratories. Special microbiological practices enhance worker safety, environmental protection, and address the risk of handling agents requiring increasing levels of containment.

Biosafety Level 1: Suitable for work involving well-characterized agents not known to consistently cause disease in immunocompetent adult humans, and present minimal potential hazard to laboratory personnel and the environment.

Biosafety Level 2: Suitable for work involving agents that pose moderate hazards to personnel and the environment. It differs from BSL-1 in that: 1) laboratory personnel have specific training in handling pathogenic agents and are supervised by scientists competent in handling infectious agents and associated procedures; 2) access to the laboratory is restricted when work is being conducted; and 3) all procedures in which infectious aerosols or splashes may be created are conducted in Biosafety Cabinets (BSCs) or other physical containment equipment.

Biosafety Level 3: Applicable to clinical, diagnostic, teaching, research, or production facilities where work is performed with indigenous or exotic agents that may cause serious or potentially lethal disease through the inhalation route of exposure.

Appropriate biosafety practices by biosafety level‡ are detailed below in the chart.

BSL

AGENTS

PRACTICES

SAFETY EQUIPMENT (PRIMARY BARRIERS)

FACILITIES (SECONDARY BARRIERS)

Not known to consistently cause disease in healthy adults.

Standard Microbiological Practices

No Primary barriers required
PPE: laboratory coats and gloves; eye, face protection, as needed

Open bench top sink required.

Associated with human disease, hazard = percutaneous injury, ingestion, mucous membrane exposure.

UNC Charlotte addition: any human pathogen is assumed to be at least a BSL-2 level classification.

Limited access
Biohazard warning signs
"Sharps" precautions
Biosafety manual defining any needed waste decontamination or medical surveillance policies

Primary barriers = Class I or II BSCs or other physical containment devices used for all manipulations of agents that cause splashes or aerosols of infectious materials;
PPEs: laboratory coats, gloves, face protection as needed

Indigenous or exotic agents with potential for aerosol transmission; disease may have serious or lethal consequences

Controlled access
Decontamination of all waste
Decontamination of lab clothing before laundering
Baseline serum

Primary barriers = Class I or II BCSs or other physical containment devices used for all open manipulations of agents;
PPEs: protective lab clothing, gloves, respiratory protection as needed

Physical separation from access corridors
Self-closing, double-door access
Exhausted air not recirculated
Negative airflow into laboratory

‡NOTE: Possession and use of biohazardous agents deemed to fall under Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) is prohibited on campus.

For investigators wishing to use transgenic animals monitored under the NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic DNA Molecules or to introduce biohazards into animals, the following animal biosafety practices are germane:

ABSL	AGENTS	PRACTICES	SAFETY EQUIPMENT (PRIMARY BARRIERS)	FACILITIES (SECONDARY BARRIERS)
1	Not known to consistently cause disease in healthy human adults.	Standard animal care and management practices, including appropriate medical surveillance programs.	As required for normal care of each species.	Nonrecirculation of exhaust air Directional air flow recommended.
2	Associated with human disease, hazard = percutaneous injury, ingestion, mucous membrane exposure.	Limited access Biohazard warning signs "Sharps" precautions Biosafety manual Decontamination of all infectious wastes and animal cages prior to washing.	Primary barriers Containment equipment appropriate for animal species PPEs: laboratory coats, gloves, face and respiratory protection as needed	Autoclave available Handwashing sink available in the animal room.
3	Indigenous or exotic agents with potential for aerosol transmission; disease may have serious or lethal consequences.	Controlled access Decontamination of cages before bedding removed Decontamination of lab clothing before laundering Disinfectant foot bath as needed	Containment equipment for housing animals and cage dumping activities Class I or II BCSs or other physical containment devices available for all manipulative procedures (inoculation, necropsy) that may create infectious aerosols Respiratory protection	Physical separation from access corridors Self-closing, double-door access Sealed penetrations Sealed windows Autoclave available in facility