HOODS AND MICROBIOLOGICAL SAFETY CABINETS
A microbiological safety cabinet (msc) is intended to reduce the risks to the operator of handling hazardous or potentially hazardous micro-organisms. The nature of a microbiology laboratory’s activity puts operators at risk of exposure to infection. Technicians in medical analysis laboratories who process samples from the same patients are also exposed to these risks. It is therefore crucial that these laboratories ensure the safety of their staff. As well as protecting the product and the environment, type ii mscs are laminar flow hoods intended to protect individuals handling pathogenic or potentially pathogenic biological agents. Specifically, type ii mscs offer triple protection:
- for the operator
- for the environment
- for the sample.
Section ii, operating rules, of the french guidelines for the proper conduct of medical biology analyses (gbea) recommends installing a means of protection against the dissemination of aerosol within the laboratory setting and in particular, the use of an msc to protect workers who may be exposed to pathogenic biological agents in risk groups 2, 3 and 4. In addition, type ii mscs are certified compliant with european standard en 12469, which has been applicable since 2000. In addition to being a performance criterion for mscs, standard en 12469 guarantees optimal security for users, samples and the environment.
For more information, our teams of experts are all on hand to advise you on purchasing hoods and mscs.