Editing Biological hazard

{{short description|Biological material that poses serious risks to the health of living organisms}}
{{redirect|Biohazard|the franchise known as ''Biohazard'' in Japan|Resident Evil{{!}}''Resident Evil''|other uses}}
[[File:Biohazard symbol.svg|alt=A black symbol on a transparent background|The [[Hazard symbol#Biohazard symbol|biohazard symbol]]|thumb]]
{{Pollution sidebar|Biological}}

A '''biological hazard''', or '''biohazard''', is a [[biological]] substance that poses a threat (or is a [[hazard]]) to the health of [[living organisms]], primarily humans. This could include a sample of a [[microorganism]], [[virus]] or [[toxin]] that can adversely affect human [[health]]. A biohazard could also be a substance harmful to other living beings.{{efn|See [[Biological hazard#Classification|Classification]], "Category A, UN 2900"}}

The term and [[Hazard symbol#Biohazard sign|its associated symbol]] are generally used as a warning, so that those potentially exposed to the substances will know to take precautions. The biohazard symbol was developed in 1966 by Charles Baldwin, an environmental-health engineer working for the [[Dow Chemical Company]] on their containment products.<ref name="waterloo">{{Cite web |title=Biohazard Symbol History |url=http://www.hms.harvard.edu/orsp/coms/BiosafetyResources/History-of-Biohazard-Symbol.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213165520/http://www.hms.harvard.edu/orsp/coms/biosafetyresources/history-of-biohazard-symbol.htm |archive-date=February 13, 2012}}</ref> It is used in the labeling of biological materials that carry a significant health risk, including viral samples and used [[hypodermic needles]]. In [[Unicode]], the [[biohazard symbol]] is U+2623 (<span style="font-size: larger;">☣</span>).

==ANSI Z535/OSHA/ISO regulation==
Biohazardous safety issues are identified with specified labels,{{efn|See [[Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals]] for chemical labelling standards for containers.}} signs and paragraphs established by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Today, [[ANSI Z535]] standards for biohazards are used worldwide and should always be used appropriately within [[ANSI Z535]] Hazardous Communications (HazCom) signage, labeling and paragraphs. The goal is to help workers rapidly identify the severity of a biohazard from a distance and through colour and design standardization.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

Biological hazard symbol design:
* A red on white or white-coloured background is used behind a black biohazard symbol when integrated with a DANGER sign, label or paragraph.
* An orange on black or white-coloured background is used behind a black biohazard symbol when integrated with a WARNING sign, label or paragraph.
* A yellow on black or white-coloured background is used behind a black biohazard symbol when integrated with a CAUTION sign, label or paragraph.
* A green on white or white-coloured background is used behind a black biohazard symbol when integrated with a NOTICE sign, label or paragraph.

DANGER is used to identify a biohazard that will cause death. WARNING is used to identify a biohazard that may cause death. CAUTION is used to identify a biohazard that will cause injury, but not death. NOTICE is used to identify a non-injury biohazard message (e.g. hygiene, cleanup or general lab policies).

OSHA requires the use of proper ANSI HazCom where applicable in American workplaces. States and local governments also use these standards as codes and laws within their own jurisdictions. Proper use of ANSI Z535 signs, labels and paragraphs are written into many of OSHA's standards for HazCom and crafted to integrate with ISO symbols.

==UN/ISO Classification==
Biohazardous agents are classified for transportation by [[UN number]]:<ref>{{Cite web |title=USDA Policies and Procedures on Biohazardous Waste Decontamination, Management, and Quality Controls at Laboratories and Technical Facilities |url=https://www.ocio.usda.gov/sites/default/files/docs/2012/DR9630-001_0.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305032934/https://www.ocio.usda.gov/sites/default/files/docs/2012/DR9630-001_0.htm |archive-date=March 5, 2017 |access-date=December 17, 2016 |publisher=USDA}}</ref>
* Category A, UN 2814 – Infectious substance, affecting humans: An infectious substance in a form capable of causing permanent disability or life-threatening or fatal disease in otherwise healthy humans or animals when exposure to it occurs.
* Category A, UN 2900 – Infectious substance, affecting animals (only): An infectious substance that is not in a form generally capable of causing permanent disability or life-threatening or fatal disease in otherwise healthy humans and animals when exposure to themselves occurs.
* Category B, UN 3373 – Biological substance transported for diagnostic or investigative purposes.
* Regulated Medical Waste, UN 3291 – Waste or reusable material derived from medical treatment of an animal or human, or from biomedical research, which includes the production and testing.

== Levels of biohazard ==
{{anchor|Biohazard level}}
{{Main|Biosafety level}}
[[File:Sharps Container.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Immediate disposal of used needles into a [[sharps container]] is standard procedure.]]
[[File:Army trainers teach NHS medics how to put on Ebola safety suits (15650293350).jpg|thumb|200px|right|NHS medics practice using protective equipment used when treating [[Ebola]] patients]]

The United States [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC) categorizes various diseases in levels of biohazard, Level 1 being minimum risk and Level 4 being extreme risk. Laboratories and other facilities are categorized as BSL ([[Biosafety Level]]) 1–4 or as ''P1'' through ''P4'' for short (Pathogen or Protection Level).{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}
* '''Biohazard Level 1:''' Bacteria and viruses including ''[[Bacillus subtilis]]'', [[Canidae|canine]] [[hepatitis]], ''[[Escherichia coli]]'', and [[varicella]] ([[chickenpox]]), as well as some cell cultures and non-infectious bacteria. At this level precautions against the biohazardous materials in question are minimal, most likely involving gloves and some sort of facial protection.
* '''Biohazard Level 2:''' Bacteria and viruses that cause only mild disease to humans, or are difficult to contract via [[aerosol]] in a lab setting, such as hepatitis [[hepatitis A|A]], [[hepatitis B|B]], and [[hepatitis C|C]], some [[influenza A]] strains, [[Human respiratory syncytial virus]], [[Lyme disease]], [[salmonella]], [[mumps]], [[measles]], [[scrapie]], [[dengue fever]], and [[HIV]]. Routine diagnostic work with clinical specimens can be done safely at Biosafety Level 2, using Biosafety Level 2 practices and procedures. Research work (including co-cultivation, virus replication studies, or manipulations involving concentrated virus) can be done in a BSL-2 (P2) '''facility''', using BSL-3 practices and procedures.
* '''Biohazard Level 3:''' Bacteria and viruses that can cause severe to fatal disease in humans, but for which vaccines or other treatments exist, such as [[anthrax]], [[West Nile virus]], [[Venezuelan equine encephalitis]], [[Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome|SARS coronavirus]], [[Middle East respiratory syndrome|MERS coronavirus]], [[SARS-CoV-2]], Influenza A [[H5N1]], [[hantaviruses]], [[Cholera]], [[tuberculosis]], [[typhus]], [[Rift Valley fever]], [[Rocky Mountain spotted fever]], [[yellow fever]], and [[malaria]].
* '''Biohazard Level 4:''' Viruses that cause severe to fatal disease in humans, and for which vaccines or other treatments are ''not'' available, such as [[Bolivian hemorrhagic fever]], [[Marburg virus]], [[Ebola virus]], [[Lassa fever virus]], [[Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever]], and other [[viral hemorrhagic fever|hemorrhagic]] diseases, as well as [[Nipah virus]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Tigabu |first1=Bersabeh |last2=Rasmussen |first2=Lynn |last3=White |first3=E. Lucile |last4=Tower |first4=Nichole |last5=Saeed |first5=Mohammad |last6=Bukreyev |first6=Alexander |last7=Rockx |first7=Barry |last8=LeDuc |first8=James W. |last9=Noah |first9=James W. |date=1 April 2014 |title=A BSL-4 High-Throughput Screen Identifies Sulfonamide Inhibitors of Nipah Virus |journal=Assay and Drug Development Technologies |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=155–161 |doi=10.1089/adt.2013.567 |pmid=24735442 |pmc=3994909}}</ref> [[Variola virus]] ([[smallpox]]) is an agent that is worked with at BSL-4 despite the existence of a vaccine, as it has been [[Eradication of infectious diseases|eradicated]] and thus the general population is no longer routinely vaccinated. When dealing with biological hazards at this level, the use of a [[positive pressure personnel suit]] with a segregated air supply is mandatory. The entrance and exit of a Level Four biolab will contain multiple showers, a vacuum room, an [[ultraviolet]] light room, [[autonomous detection system]], and other safety precautions designed to destroy all traces of the biohazard. Multiple airlocks are employed and are electronically secured to prevent    doors from both opening at the same time. All air and water service going to and coming from a [[Biosafety level#Levels|Biosafety Level 4]] (P4) lab will undergo similar decontamination procedures to eliminate the possibility of an accidental release. Currently there are no bacteria classified at this level.

== See also ==
* {{annotated link|Biocontainment}}
* {{annotated link|Biofilter}}
* {{annotated link|Biological agent}}
* {{annotated link|Biosafety level}}
* {{annotated link|Hazard}}
* {{annotated link|Interplanetary contamination}}
* [[List of laboratory biosecurity incidents]]
* {{annotated link|Planetary protection}}
* {{annotated link|Public health}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=40em}}

=== Bibliography ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Baldwin CL, Runkle RS |date=October 1967 |title=Biohazards symbol: development of a biological hazards warning signal |journal=Science |volume=158 |issue=3798 |pages=264–5 |bibcode=1967Sci...158..264B |doi=10.1126/science.158.3798.264 |pmid=6053882|s2cid=38466300 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Preston, Richard |title=The Hot Zone |publisher=Anchor Books |year=1994 |isbn=978-3-426-77257-7 |location=New York}}
* {{Cite book |last=Preston, Richard |url=https://archive.org/details/demoninfreezertr00pres |title=The Demon in the Freezer: A True Story |year=2002 |publisher=Random House |isbn=978-0-375-50856-1 |url-access=registration}}

{{refend}}

==External links==
* [https://www.cdc.gov/od/ohs/biosfty/bmbl4/bmbl4toc.htm "Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories"], official [[CDC]] guide.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070403122431/http://hwi.osha.europa.eu/topic_prevention_biologicalhazards/ "Prevention of Biological Hazards"], [[EU-OSHA]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110716160837/http://www.hms.harvard.edu/orsp/coms/BiosafetyResources/History-of-Biohazard-Symbol.htm "Symbol Making"], an account of the development of the symbol in 1966.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100917085657/http://www.bioseal.com/mass_overview.php "BioSeal Systems"], Biosafety level 4 containment.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140529171403/http://www.slideshare.net/Aftermath_Crime_Scene_Cleanup/biohazard-regulationscompliancenational Biohazard Remediation Compliance Overview]
* [http://ac.els-cdn.com/S0140673695928413/1-s2.0-S0140673695928413-main.pdf?_tid=b4da1dda-55a1-11e4-a812-00000aacb35d&acdnat=1413511554_5f655e80f9c2209282995fd361342ef0 "Example of Reclassified Biohazard to Level 4"], article from The Lancet concerning the reclassification of Ebola after observation. 
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180406041152/https://safetylineloneworker.com/blog/workplace-hazards-series-biological-hazards/ "Biological hazards related to working alone safety"], an article focusing on working alone safety when dealing with biological hazards

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