Biomaterial Database

Design modifications of a class II biological safety cabinet and user guidelines for enhancing safety. 1991

T M Stimpfel, and E L Gershey

Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10201.

Class II Biological Safety Cabinets (BSCs) are widely used in biological and chemical research for protection of the investigator, the environment, and the project. However, researchers' operational procedures are often inconsistent with BSC design limitations. While the Class II BSC is only a partial containment cabinet, better design and user training can improve containment, thereby increasing personnel protection. The authors developed design modifications for a Class II BSC to permit internal waste collection and to optimize the available work area. An internal recessed well for the waste receptacle, relocation of petcocks and electrical duplex, and installation of a new vacuum bottle make operation of the cabinet more efficient and potentially safer. To correct poor work practices, which can compromise the protective features of any BSC, precise guidelines and training programs should be relied on. Standardization of guidelines for operation of BSCs would be beneficial to the clinical and research community, given the frequent exchange of investigators among biomedical institutions.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D011482	Protective Devices	Devices designed to provide protection against injury.	Safety Devices,Device, Protective,Device, Safety,Devices, Protective,Devices, Safety,Protective Device,Safety Device
D003264	Containment of Biohazards	Physical and biological barriers to the spread of potentially hazardous biologically active agents such as bacteria, viruses, recombinant nucleotides, or contaminated bio-specimens.	Biohazards Containment,Biohazard Containment,Biological Containment,Biosafety,Containment, Biologic,Physical Containment,Biologic Containment,Containment, Biohazard,Containment, Biohazards,Containment, Biological,Containment, Physical
D004867	Equipment Design	Methods and patterns of fabricating machines and related hardware.	Design, Equipment,Device Design,Medical Device Design,Design, Medical Device,Designs, Medical Device,Device Design, Medical,Device Designs, Medical,Medical Device Designs,Design, Device,Designs, Device,Designs, Equipment,Device Designs,Equipment Designs
D004869	Equipment Safety	Freedom of equipment from actual or potential hazards.	Device Safety,Hazards, Equipment,Medical Device Safety,Safety, Equipment,Device Safety, Medical,Safety, Medical Device,Equipment Hazard,Equipment Hazards,Hazard, Equipment,Safety, Device