A Biological Safety Cabinet (BSC) is an enclosed ventilated workspace for safely working with materials potentially contaminated with pathogens in the laboratory. The primary purpose of a BSC is to serve as the primary means to protect a laboratory worker and the surrounding environment from pathogens. All exhaust air is HEPA filtered, removing harmful bacteria and viruses. Proper placement of the biosafety cabinet is crucial for the safety of the operator and its environment.

Section 1: Suggestions for Placing Biological Safety Cabinet
A biosafety cabinet should have at least 30 centimeters of space between its sides and the wall or any large obstruction.

Section 2: Guidelines for proper use of Biological Safety Cabinet
Do not use the cabinet if any of the alarms are triggered.
Do not stack boxes or objects on top of the cabinet
Most BSCs are designed to be used by one operator only
Only trained operator should operate the biosafety cabinet
Do not use the cabinet for agents of hazard such as toxic, flammable, or explosive materials.
Biosafety cabinets need to be recertified annually.
Most BSCs are designed to be used by one operator only unless specified otherwise.

Section 3: Before using Biological Safety Cabinet
In today's microbiological and biomedical research laboratories, procedures are conducted that can generate infectious aerosols and biohazards. Other procedures require a sterile environment with nonturbulent airflow so that cells and other cultures will not be contaminated while they're being handled. Both of these procedures can be performed safely in a biosafety cabinet using the proper working techniques.

Section 4: Prepare the cabinet for your experiment
If a germicidal UV lamp is being used, you must deactivate the lamps as soon as you enter the laboratory.
Start the cabinet lower and allow to purge for 35 minutes. This will remove the airborne contaminants from the work zone and stabilize the cabinet airflow.
Wipe down the interior work zone surfaces with an appropriate disinfectant including the front air grille with a suitable disinfectant such as 70% isopropyl alcohol. The most effective disinfectant will depend on the organisms manipulated and the work conducted in the biosafety cabinet.
Wipe down the external surface of items with disinfectant then load the cabinet work zone with all the items you'll need for your work.
Check the air grille which must not be covered as illustrated here. Disruption to the inflow of air into the cabinet will compromise the cabinet performance. The cabinet work zone should not be overloaded

Section 5: Proper work procedure in the biological safety cabinet
The biosafety cabinet work zone should be divided into three areas so that you have a clean area, a working area, and a contaminated area within the work zone. These areas must be located to minimize the movement of clean items over contaminated items and vice versa.
After allowing 15 to 30 minutes of contact time, wipe the surrounding of the exposed surface and equipment with appropriate decontaminant. Contact time will depend on the microorganism and decontaminant.

Section 6: After the experiment
Run the biosafety cabinet for 23 minutes without activity to purge the air.
Disinfect the external surfaces of all items to be removed from the biosafety cabinet.
SpraY the items with 70% ethanol. Leave it in the BSC for 10 minutes and wipe it clean
Follow your laboratory guideline for reusable and disposable items decontamination. Place all wastes in the discard container within the biosafety cabinet.
Disinfect all cabinet surfaces including the work zone, the front sliding sash, sides and back walls, and grill surface.
Dispose of the biomedical waste and wash your hands thoroughly with germicidal soap and water.

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