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Cell and Tissue Culture Biosafety

Recombinant DNA Safety

CDC/NIH Biosafety Levels

  1. BIOSAFETY 1 (BSL1) is suitable for work involving well-characterized agents not known to cause disease in healthy adult humans, and of minimal potential hazard to laboratory personnel and the environment.
  2. BIOSAFETY LEVEL 2 (BSL2) is similar to Level 1 and is suitable for work involving agents of moderate potential hazard to personnel and the environment.
  3. BIOSAFETY LEVEL 3 (BSL3) is applicable to clinical, diagnostic, teaching, research, or production facilities in which work is done with indigenous or exotic agents which may cause serious or potentially lethal disease as a result of exposure by the inhalation route.
  4. BIOSAFETY LEVEL 4 (BSL4) is required for work with dangerous and exotic agents which pose a high individual risk of aerosol-transmitted laboratory infections and life-threatening disease.

NIH Risk Group Levels

  1. Risk Group 1 (RG1) agents are not associated with disease in healthy adult humans.
  2. Risk Group 2 (RG2) agents are associated with human disease which is rarely serious and for which preventive or therapeutic interventions are often available.
  3. Risk Group 3 (RG3) agents are associated with serious or lethal human disease for which preventive or therapeutic interventions may be available.
  4. Risk Group 4 (RG4) agents are likely to cause serious or lethal human disease for which preventive or therapeutic interventions are not usually available.

Laboratory & Chemical Safety

Page last updated: July 19, 2017