he skin. or mucous membranes. Care should also be taken when handling sharps that may be contaminated with a microbe A contaminated scalpel blade, needle, or broken glass can serve as a vehicle of entry to the body. As described more thoroughly wearing a lab coat, safety glasses, and disposable gloves is always a good idea when handling any quantity of microorgan- ism. The handling of liquid culture could also lead to aerosoliza- tion of the microbial suspension, hence wearing a particle mask might be useful as a precaution. It is always best to take an approach that maximizes your own safety and the safety of those BSL-2 agents possess the potential for biohazard, and they may oduce dis de of severity as a result of accidental laboratory infections. Moderate level pathogens, such as Neisseria gonorrhoeae, are classified as BSL-2. A safe way to handle BsL-2 organisms is in a laminar airflow, biosafety hood By generating a flow of air inside the cabinet, these hoods are designed to keep aerosols from leaving the hood and entering the rooms airspace. The hoods proper function should be certi fied yearly by professionals. The Environmental Health and Safety officers of your institution or outside contractors can perform this function Usually a germicidal UV light is used to disinfect the inside of the hood when not in use. As a precaution prior to use of th hood, the airflow should be on for 15 minutes while the germici dal light is on A wipe-down of the hoods inside working surface with 70% ethanol is also a useful precaution after the UV light is turned off. The airflow should be kept on during the entire time the hood is in use, and the glass panel on the front of the hood be raised only high enough fortable of the worker's arms inside the hood. Most hoods are equipped with an alarm to warn the worker if the front panel is raised too high Basic microbiological techniques of sterility, a minimum of protective gear, disinfectant, and common sense are all that are required to safely handle BsL-l microbes used as cloning or expression vectors in the laboratory. Under common sense and in accordance with safety regulations, there should be absolutely no eating or drinking by an individual during the handling of a microorganism in the lab. Those workers in a diagnostic microbiology lab or doing research on a BSL-2 pathogen will wish to use a biosafety hood when necessary, along with protective clothing I 16 Haidaris and Brownlowthe skin, or mucous membranes. Care should also be taken when handling sharps that may be contaminated with a microbe. A contaminated scalpel blade, needle, or broken glass can serve as a vehicle of entry to the body. As described more thoroughly below, wearing a lab coat, safety glasses, and disposable gloves is always a good idea when handling any quantity of microorgan￾ism. The handling of liquid culture could also lead to aerosoliza￾tion of the microbial suspension, hence wearing a particle mask might be useful as a precaution. It is always best to take an approach that maximizes your own safety and the safety of those around you. BSL-2 agents possess the potential for biohazard, and they may produce disease of varying degrees of severity as a result of accidental laboratory infections. Moderate level pathogens, such as Neisseria gonorrhoeae, are classified as BSL-2. A safe way to handle BSL-2 organisms is in a laminar airflow, biosafety hood. By generating a flow of air inside the cabinet, these hoods are designed to keep aerosols from leaving the hood and entering into the room’s airspace. The hood’s proper function should be certi- fied yearly by professionals.The Environmental Health and Safety officers of your institution or outside contractors can perform this function. Usually a germicidal UV light is used to disinfect the inside of the hood when not in use. As a precaution prior to use of the hood, the airflow should be on for 15 minutes while the germici￾dal light is on. A wipe-down of the hood’s inside working surface with 70% ethanol is also a useful precaution after the UV light is turned off. The airflow should be kept on during the entire time the hood is in use, and the glass panel on the front of the hood should be raised only high enough to allow comfortable use of the worker’s arms inside the hood. Most hoods are equipped with an alarm to warn the worker if the front panel is raised too high. Basic microbiological techniques of sterility, a minimum of protective gear, disinfectant, and common sense are all that are required to safely handle BSL-1 microbes used as cloning or expression vectors in the laboratory. Under common sense and in accordance with safety regulations, there should be absolutely no eating or drinking by an individual during the handling of a microorganism in the lab. Those workers in a diagnostic microbiology lab or doing research on a BSL-2 pathogen will wish to use a biosafety hood when necessary, along with protective clothing. 116 Haidaris and Brownlow