The first training manual for new staff working in BSL3/4 labs. This guide is based on a course developed in 2007 by the EU COST action group 28b which serves as a standard for many courses BSL3/4 training courses worldwide. The four-day course consists of lectures and practical training with the lecturers covering all the different possibilities of organising a BSL-3/4 lab including the adaptation to the local requirements of biosafety, safety at work, and social regulations. This book covers bio-containment, hazard criteria and categorisation of microbes, technical specifications of BSL-3 laboratories and ABSL-3 laboratories, personal protective gear, shipping BSL-3 and BSL-4 organisms according to UN and IATA regulations, efficacy of inactivation procedures, fumigation, learning from a history of lab accidents, handling samples that arrive for diagnostic testing and bridging the gap between the requirements of bio-containment and diagnostics. Course participants can not only use the book for their actual training event but it will remain a useful reference throughout their career in BSL3/4 labs.

During July 10-13, 2011, 68 participants from 32 countries gathered in Istanbul, Turkey for a workshop organized by the United States National Research Council on Anticipating Biosecurity Challenges of the Global Expansion of High-containment Biological Laboratories. The United States Department of State's Biosecurity Engagement Program sponsored the workshop, which was held in partnership with the Turkish Academy of Sciences. The international workshop examined biosafety and biosecurity issues related to the design, construction, maintenance, and operation of high-containment biological laboratories- equivalent to United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention biological safety level 3 or 4 labs. Although these laboratories are needed to characterize highly dangerous human and animal pathogens, assist in disease surveillance, and produce vaccines, they are complex systems with inherent risks. Biosecurity Challenges of the Global Expansion of High-Containment Biological Laboratories summarizes the workshop discussion, which included the following topics: Technological options to meet diagnostic, research, and other goals; Laboratory construction and commissioning; Operational maintenance to provide sustainable capabilities, safety, and security; and Measures for encouraging a culture of responsible conduct. Workshop attendees described the history and current challenges they face in their individual laboratories. Speakers recounted steps they were taking to improve safety and security, from running training programs to implementing a variety of personnel reliability measures. Many also spoke about physical security, access controls, and monitoring pathogen inventories. Workshop participants also identified tensions in the field and suggested possible areas for action.

Biosafety in the Laboratory is a concise set of practical guidelines for handling and disposing of biohazardous material. The consensus of top experts in laboratory safety, this volume provides the information needed for immediate improvement of safety practices. It discusses high- and low-risk biological agents (including the highest-risk materials handled in labs today), presents the "seven basic rules of biosafety," addresses special issues such as the shipping of dangerous materials, covers waste disposal in detail, offers a checklist for administering laboratory safetyâ€"and more.

This is the third edition of this manual which contains updated practical guidance on biosafety techniques in laboratories at all levels. It is organised into nine sections and issues covered include: microbiological risk assessment; lab design and facilities; biosecurity concepts; safety equipment; contingency planning; disinfection and sterilisation; the transport of infectious substances; biosafety and the safe use of recombinant DNA technology; chemical, fire and electrical safety aspects; safety organisation and training programmes; and the safety checklist.

The first training manual for new staff working in BSL3/4 labs. This guide is based on a course developed in 2007 by the EU COST action group 28b which serves as a standard for many courses BSL3/4 training courses worldwide. The four-day course consists of lectures and practical training with the lecturers covering all the different possibilities of organising a BSL-3/4 lab including the adaptation to the local requirements of biosafety, safety at work, and social regulations. This book covers bio-containment, hazard criteria and categorisation of microbes, technical specifications of BSL-3 laboratories and ABSL-3 laboratories, personal protective gear, shipping BSL-3 and BSL-4 organisms according to UN and IATA regulations, efficacy of inactivation procedures, fumigation, learning from a history of lab accidents, handling samples that arrive for diagnostic testing and bridging the gap between the requirements of bio-containment and diagnostics. Course participants can not only use the book for their actual training event but it will remain a useful reference throughout their career in BSL3/4 labs.

On June 27-28, 2018, the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (the National Academies) convened an international workshop in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on developing norms for the provision of laboratories in low-resource contexts. The U.S. Department of State's Biosecurity Engagement Program requested that the National Academies organize this workshop to engage an international group of organizations that provide funding for construction, upgrades, and maintenance of biological laboratories in countries without the means to build such labs themselves. Twenty-one people from 19 organizations participated. The intent was to advance the conversation about the identification and application of guiding principles and common norms for use by these organizations in their grants, partnerships, and aid. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.