Storage and Transport of Infected Material
The BSL-3 facility is equipped with 4°C/-20°C, -80°C, and liquid nitrogen storage freezers. Space for individual users is available (please see Laboratory Manager). All material stored in these freezers should be in securely closed, clearly labeled (i.e. name, date, and description of the sample) containers that cannot be opened accidentally. A few other guidelines for storage and transportation of infected materials are as follows.
A. Storage of Infectious Materials
1 Room Temperature, 4°C, and -20°C
It is inadvisable to store any infectious material under these conditions for long term. If
infectious material needs to be stored temporarily before analysis, it should optimally be
stored in the -20°C freezer portion of the yellow "infectious refrigerator".
Samples stored for longer than three months under these conditions and left untouched
will be subject to disposal without notice.
2 -80°C
Storage racks are provided in the -80°C freezers. BSL-3 users should contact the Laboratory
Manager for space. Material should not be stored outside the racks. Any clutter is subject to
removal and destruction without notice.
3 Liquid Nitrogen
When infected cells are to be frozen for storage, they must be suspended in the freezing medium
and transferred into freezing vials within a safety cabinet. These vials should then be slowly cooled
(at one degree/minute) in the -80°C freezers before they are transported to the liquid nitrogen freezer.
When anything is retrieved from the liquid nitrogen freezer, users must wear a protective visor and
facemask in case the material explodes on contact with the warmer surrounding air of the BSL-3 facility.
Visor is located on top of the liquid nitrogen freezer. Contact the Laboratory Manager for space.
B. Transport of Infectious Materials
All materials that are handled within the BSL-3 facility, with the exception of photographic film (see Section 8),
are automatically considered to be infectious unless specifically disinfected by one of the approved methods
(see Section 10) and should NOT be removed from the facility. Infectious material may be removed from the
BSL-3 without using decontamination procedures only if it is to be received in a laboratory that is
also operating Biosafety Level-3 containment procedures. Before transport, storage vials containing
contaminated materials need to be securely closed and then surface decontaminated, usually by a swabbing
of the outside of the container with 70% ethanol. The vial should then be placed inside a larger container
(i.e., a sealable or taped-shut bag or a screw-top vessel) that carries enough absorbent material inside it to
soak up any spill that may occur, and securely closed. This larger container should then be placed inside a
third container that is to be used as the transportation carrier and which is clearly marked with a biohazard
symbol and the words "BIOHAZARDOUS MATERIAL INSIDE".
The containers used for the transport must be sufficient to prevent accidental contamination and must be approved
by the Laboratory Manager and Wistar's Safety Officer.
The Wistar Institute
Biosaftey Level 3 Laboratory Code of Practice