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Biological Safety Level

Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

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Synonyms

BSL

Definition

The Biological Safety Level (BSL) is used in the USA to describe a set of specifications for the precautions required to isolate potentially hazardous biological agents in a containment facility at a specified stringency, ranging from BSL-1, which indicates the least strict containment, to BSL-4, which is the containment required for the most hazardous human pathogens. A similar scale is used in the EU using the abbreviation P1-P4, where P indicates either Pathogen or Protection. For instance, a BSL-4 laboratory (P4 in Europe) is under reduced pressure relative to atmospheric pressure, the exhausted air is filtered, and all wastes including water and any hardware leaving the high-containment area are sterilized chemically or by heating. Trained personnel work inside the area in protective suits, overpressurized by air pumped in from outside through a dedicated system. The exterior of the suit is chemically disinfected when workers leave the area.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC, USA

    Catharine A. Conley

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  1. Catharine A. Conley
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Correspondence to Catharine A. Conley .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Conley, C.A. (2014). Biological Safety Level. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_179-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_179-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Biological Safety Level
    Published:
    15 March 2023

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_179-3

  2. Original

    Biological Safety Level
    Published:
    01 May 2015

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_179-2

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