Knowing About Biological Safety Cabinet and What they Do?

Biological safety cabinet keeps workers safe and also sustaining quality. There is a requirement for regular certification. But what is the exact use of biological safety cabinets. This blog will provide info about the uses, working, and also the types of devices.

BSC’s, are ventilated enclosures in a lab. Within these, employees can handle dangerous specimens with safety. HEPA fan and filter units filter air away from people to direct harmful aerosols out of the cabinets. Furthermore, the fan/filter incessantly recirculates the air. Consequently, the cabinet has clean air. Eventually, the key purpose of a BSC is the safety of the people working in a lab. 

Class I

These protect employee and workspace in labs actively handling powders and chemicals. A front opening on every cabinet lets the clean air in. It moves with the help a built-in exhaust and HEPA filter before entering the unit. At the back side of the work surface, the air leaves the cabinet. The inward flow of the air controls the unsafe aerosols a people might generate within by directing them into filtration elements absorbing them.

Class II

These cabinets provide protection to the workspace, employees and the products present. The air enters the work area from a front aperture. The air inside continues under the work surface and travels up the back plenum. Next, most of the air recirculates through the main HEPA filter. This offers down flow, then the remaining air exits through another filter.

There are some features making it different from the class I cabinet. First, there is a front opening with specific, steady flow of the air inwards. Secondly, vertical, HEPA-filtered unidirectional airflow steadily moves through the key chamber. And thirdly, the exhaust air enters the adjacent laboratory through an external extraction system.

Class III

These are fully airtight enclosure with completely sealed front windows. This separates the employee from the unsafe specimen with a physical barrier, offering ideal protection. 

Workers wear long, heavy duty rubber gloves located on ports in the cabinet. These allow them to operate the product inside without compromising on containment.

For removing materials from the BSC, a side chamber has an airlock transfer hatch. Additionally, there might be a double door autoclave. Any materials removed from the cabinet goes through decontamination. Strict safety protocols are followed through every process, which has this kind of cabinet. This comprise putting on interlock for the doors and autoclave for ensuring that neither door is opened simultaneously as the other.

These are perfect for biosafety laboratories with ratings of 4. These labs have the deadliest biological agents. In these, employees abide by the highest containment and protection practices. Class III BSCs are among the methods in which BSL-4 labs work for protecting people and guarantee total containment.

Coming to a Conclusion 

Eventually, BSCs have a big role to play in maintaining the safety of the workers in the lab. So, it is always essential to check that the functioning of the same is very proper. 

The demand for these biological safety cabinet is on the rise because of the increase in the incidence of chronic diseases, and it will reach a value of USD 507.1 million by the end of this decade.