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BIOLOGICAL HAZARDS (BIOHAZARDS

Biological/ Biohazards are hazards caused by living organisms e.g. poisonous plants, animals or infectious microorganisms.

Hazards caused by plants are known as botanical hazards and those caused by animals are zoological hazards.

Zoological hazards occur because of poor handling of laboratory animals’ e.g.  Worms, rabies, chicken pox etc.  Botanical hazard occurs because of contact with poisonous plants e.g. Datura and Sodom apple,

 Microorganisms e.g. algae, fungi, bacteria and virus that may cause illness or death. These are called microbial hazards.

Protective methods for biological hazards

1. Wear protective clothing when handling lab animals and plants.
2. Clean or disinfect tables using appropriate disinfectants before and after experiments.
3. Incinerate used materials as soon as possible.
4. Use protective clothing only in the lab and never use it outside the laboratory –leave them in the laboratory.
5. Never smoke or eat anything in the laboratory.
6. Do not store any material in a food refrigerator or mix with other food utensils.
7. Wash your hands thoroughly with an appropriate antiseptic after every practical.
8. Avoid body contact with laboratory animals and plants.
9. Ensure maximum care when handling and storing carcinogenic chemicals.
10. Infected animals should never be used for any practical.
11. Stock of fresh lab animals must be obtained only from a reliable source.