Blog #8 Describe in as much detail as you can the procedures and protections for enetering a hot zone bio containment facility.
Many precautions must be taken before entering a 'hot zone' (biosafety level 4) bio containment facility. This is because Bio safety level 4 is required to work with extremely dangerous infections and diseases, which have absolutely NO cure.
Firstly, when dealing with hazardous materials a 'Hazmat' suit (HAZardous MATerials) and a self-contained oxygen supply is mandatory. Both the entrance and exit of this lab will contain many showers and both a vacuum and ultraviolet light room, which was created to destroy any traces of the hazardous materials or substances. Also, airlocks are carefully secured to make sure that both doors will not open simultaneously. On top of that, both air and water service going to and coming from a Level 4 lab go through a decontamination process to prevent an accidental release of the biological hazards. As you can see, level 4 must be handled with caution!
Secondly, the whole staff MUST be aware of how to handle hazardous and infectious agents, and are trained thoroughly in order to prepare for work around the substances. Basically, they know everything about the equipment, practices and the lab design. They are also carefully supervised by experienced professionals just in case anything were to go wrong. Furthermore, the whole lab is run by a director, who is aware of everything going on.
The facility is isolated and confined to avoid mistakes that can lead to other areas of the building. Positive pressure personnel suits are also ventilated by a life support system and are provided to staff.
Specific procedures are provided and building protocols usually use negative pressurized facilities to prevent contamination. Those facilities will contain an outbreak of pathogens, when needed.
Info from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biosafety_level#Biosafety_level_4
Love your blog title! ;D
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