§ 627.15 - Biosafety level 3.

(a) Additional requirements. In addition to the requirements stated in §§ 627.13 and 627.14, the following requirements apply—

(1) Approved molded masks or respirators with HEPA filters are worn by all personnel in rooms housing infected animals.

(2) Protective clothing worn in a laboratory or animal room will be removed before exiting the laboratory or animal room.

(3) Clothing worn in laboratories and animal areas to protect street clothing will be decontaminated before being laundered.

(b) Additional laboratory requirements. (1) Laboratory doors will be kept closed.

(2) All activities involving etiologic agents will be conducted in biological safety cabinets (Class I, II, or III) or other physical containment devices within the containment module. No work in open vessels is conducted outside a biological safety cabinet.

(3) The work surfaces of biological safety cabinets and other containment equipment will be decontaminated after work with etiologic agents. Plastic-backed paper toweling should be used on nonperforated work surfaces within biological safety cabinets to facilitate clean-up.

(c) Additional animal requirements. (1) Cages are autoclaved before bedding is removed and before they are cleaned and washed.

(2) Gloves are removed aseptically and autoclaved with other wastes before being disposed of or reused.

(3) Boots, shoe covers, or other protective footwear and disinfectant foot baths must be available and used when indicated.

(4) Personal protective clothing and equipment and other physical containment devices are used for all procedures and manipulations of etiologic agents or infected animals. The risk of infectious aerosols from infected animals or their bedding shall be reduced by housing animals in partial containment caging systems as described in § 627.56.

(d) Work with BL-3 etiologic agents that require additional secondary containment. Facilities in which work with certain viruses, for example, Rift Valley fever, yellow fever, and Venezuelan equine encephalitis, is conducted require HEPA filtration of Xallexhaust air prior to discharge from the laboratory. All persons working with those agents for which a vaccine is available should be immunized.