1. Operators If the biological safety cabinet is used improperly, its protective effect may be greatly affected. The operator needs to be careful to maintain the integrity of the airflow at the front opening when moving the arms in and out of the cabinet, and the arms should slowly enter and exit the front opening vertically.
Insert hands and arms into the biological safety cabinet and wait about a minute for the cabinet to adjust and allow the air inside to "sweep" over the surfaces of the hands and arms before proceeding with the item. Place all necessary items in the safety cabinet before starting the experiment to minimize the number of times the arms are in and out of the front opening.
2. Item placement The air intake grill in front of the secondary biological safety cabinet cannot be blocked by paper, equipment or other items. Items placed in the safety cabinet should be decontaminated with 70% alcohol. Experiments can be performed on a towel soaked in disinfectant to absorb droplets that may spill. All items should be placed as close to the edge of the table as possible at the back of the table and so that they do not block the alternate grille during operation. Equipment that can generate aerosols (eg mixers, centrifuges, etc.) should be placed near the rear of the safety cabinet. Larger items such as biohazardous waste bags, trays for discarded straws, and suction filter bottles should be placed on one side of the cabinet. Laboratory operations on the work surface should be carried out in the direction from the clean area to the contaminated area. Autoclavable biohazardous waste bags and straw trays should not be placed outside the cabinet, as these items must be used with the arms in and out of the cabinet frequently, which can interfere with the integrity of the cabinet's air barrier. This affects the protection of people and objects.
3. Operation and Maintenance Most biological safety cabinets are designed to work 24 hours a day. The researchers also found that continuous work helped control dust and particle levels in the lab. Class A1 and A2 biological safety cabinets that exhaust air into the room or are connected to special exhaust ducts through casing connections can be closed when not in use. Others, such as Class II B1 and Class II B2 biological safety cabinets, are installed through hard ducts and must maintain air flow at all times to maintain room air balance. Before starting the work and after finishing the work, let the safety cabinet work at least 5 minutes to complete the "purification" process, and should leave the time when the polluted air is sent out of the safety cabinet. All maintenance work on biological safety cabinets should be performed by qualified personnel. Any failures in the operation of the biological safety cabinet should be reported and repaired before reuse.
4. UV Lamps UV lamps are not required in biological safety cabinets. If UV lamps are used, they should be cleaned weekly to remove dust and dirt that may interfere with their germicidal effectiveness. When the cabinet is recertified, the intensity of the UV light is checked to ensure proper light emission. Always turn off UV lamps when there are people in the room to protect eyes and skin from accidental exposure.
5. Open flames The use of open flames should be avoided in the environment with few microorganisms formed in the biological safety cabinet. Using an open flame can affect airflow and can be a hazard when handling volatile and flammable materials. When sterilizing inoculation loops, a micro burner or an electric stove should be used instead of an open flame.
6. Spills Laboratory operating rules on how to handle spills are posted in the laboratory and are to be read and understood by everyone who uses the laboratory. In the event of a spill of biologically hazardous material in a biological safety cabinet, it should be cleaned up immediately while the cabinet is in working condition. Use effective disinfectants and minimize aerosol generation during handling. All materials that come into contact with the spill should be sterilized and/or autoclaved.
7. Certification After installation at regular intervals, each biological safety cabinet should be certified for operational performance and integrity in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions by qualified personnel to check that it meets national and national performance standards. The evaluation of the protective effect of the safety cabinet should include the integrity of the safety cabinet, the leakage of the HEPA filter, the velocity of the downdraft, the velocity of the frontal airflow, the number of negative pressure/air changes, the smoke pattern of the airflow, and the alarm and interlock system. test. You can also choose to test for leakage, illuminance, UV intensity, noise level and vibration. When conducting these tests, the inspectors should undergo specialized training and use specialized techniques and equipment. Testing by qualified personnel is strongly recommended.
8. Cleaning and Disinfection Since the remaining medium may allow microorganisms to grow and multiply, at the end of the experiment, all items in the biological safety cabinet, including equipment, should be cleared of surface contamination and removed from the safety cabinet. Before and after each use, decontaminate the inner surfaces of the biological safety cabinet. Work surfaces and interior walls should be wiped down with a disinfectant that kills any microorganisms that may be found in the cabinet. At the end of each day's test, the work surface of the biological safety cabinet, the surrounding area, and the inside and outside of the glass should be wiped to remove surface contamination. When effective against the target organism, a bleach solution or 70% alcohol can be used for disinfection. After using aggressive disinfectants such as bleach, it must be wiped again with sterile water. It is recommended to keep the safety cabinet in operation. If shutting down, it should run for 5 minutes before shutting down to purge the gas inside.
9. Decontamination Biosafety cabinets must be decontaminated prior to removal and filter replacement. The commonly used method is to use formaldehyde vapor fumigation. Decontamination of biological safety cabinets should be performed by qualified personnel.
10. Personal Protective Equipment Personal protective clothing should be worn when using the biological safety cabinet. Ordinary test suits may be worn during operations at Biosafety Levels 1 and 2. Reverse-back test gowns with front reinforcement provide better protection and should be used when performing biosafety level III and IV operations (except for gown-type laboratories). Gloves should be worn over the gown, and elasticated sleeves may be worn to protect the researcher's wrists. Masks and safety glasses may also be required for some operations.
11. Siren The biological safety cabinet can be equipped with a choice of two types of sirens.