BSL 2 Microbiological Practices

1. The door to the facility must be kept locked at all times. Check the door after entering and leaving. Do not prop the door open.
2. Wash hands after handling viable material, after removing gloves and before leaving the laboratory.
3. An eyewash station is available by the sink.
4. Eating, drinking, smoking handling contact lenses and applying cosmetics are prohibited in the laboratory.
5. Mouth pipetting is prohibited. Use mechanical pipetting devices
6. All sharps must be placed in the sharps container
7. Work surfaces must be decontaminated upon completion of work and after any spill or splash of viable material. CleanCell Culture Facility up all spills. The hood is to be sterilized. Discide is provided for infectious samples. It needs to be wiped off after one minute. Follow by spraying the walls and the floor of the hood with 70% isopropanol. Noninfectious samples may use only the 70% isopropanol. If a spill occurs in the incubator, the shelves must be removed, washed and sterilized. If a culture dish has spilled, it must be wrapped and placed in the biohazard waste. Culture flasks may be wiped with 70% isopropanol and returned to the incubator. Report all spills outside the hood to the director. Spills outside the hood are to be cleaned with 10% bleach or 70% isopropanol depending on volume and area of spill (Example: Floor spills-clean with bleach. Microscope spills-clean with isopropanol). All materials used in decontaminating must be placed in the biohazard autoclavable waste bags.
8. If a spill is suspected inside contained equipment, such as a centrifuge, wait 5 minutes after the centrifuge has stopped to allow aerosols to settle. A HEP A filtered face mask, gloves, lab coat and shoe protectors should be worn to clean the spill. Use absorbent paper towels to absorb the spill, working from the edges towards the center. Swab the surface with a disinfectant. At the end of the clean-up, disposable protective clothing should be added to the waste bag and autoclaved.
9. All solid waste must be autoclaved and placed in the biohazard trash boxes.
10. Liquid waste is to be decontaminated in 10% bleach for at leash 20 minutes before discarding down the sink.
11. Report all insect and rodent problems to the director.
12. Animals are not permitted in the laboratory.
13. Broken glassware must not be handled directly by hand. A dustpan and brush Is located for your use. All broken glassware must be decontaminated before disposal.
14. All cultures, specimens, or potentially infectious wastes must be placed in a container with a cover that prevents leakage during collection, handling processing, storage, transport, or shipping.