ABSA CBSP flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Risk group vs biosafety level

Risk group classifies an agent's inherent hazard (RG1–RG4); biosafety level is the facility, practice, and equipment combination assigned by risk assessment to safely handle that agent.

Aerosol-generating procedures

Activities such as centrifugation, vortexing, sonication, pipetting, and loop flaming that create inhalable particles; they raise exposure risk and often require a biological safety cabinet.

Hierarchy of controls

Order of risk mitigation: elimination/substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, and PPE last. Engineering controls are more reliable than relying on individual behavior.

Biorisk management

Integrated approach combining biosafety (preventing unintentional exposure) and biosecurity (preventing intentional misuse, theft, or diversion) through assessment, mitigation, and performance review.

Primary containment

Controls that protect personnel and the immediate environment from exposure, including biological safety cabinets, sealed centrifuge rotors, and personal protective equipment.

Secondary containment

Facility-level controls that protect the outside environment, including HVAC with directional airflow, HEPA-filtered exhaust, autoclaves, and effluent decontamination systems.

Class II Type A2 cabinet

Biological safety cabinet providing personnel, product, and environmental protection; recirculates about 70% of air and exhausts about 30% through HEPA filters, suitable for work without volatile chemicals.

HEPA filter efficiency

High-efficiency particulate air filters remove at least 99.97% of particles 0.3 micrometers or larger; used on cabinet exhaust, room exhaust, and supply air in containment facilities.

Directional airflow

Air moves from clean corridors toward contaminated areas in BSL-3 facilities, maintained by pressure differentials that are monitored and alarmed to preserve containment.

Standard precautions

Infection control practices applied to all blood, body fluids, and potentially infectious material regardless of diagnosis, including hand hygiene, gloves, gowns, and sharps safety.

Sharps handling rule

Needles are not recapped, bent, or broken; sharps are placed immediately in puncture-resistant, labeled containers at the point of use and containers are never overfilled.

Spill response sequence

Alert others, evacuate if aerosolized, allow settling, don PPE, cover with absorbent, apply disinfectant with adequate contact time, then clean and decontaminate the area.

Category A infectious substance

An infectious substance capable of causing permanent disability or life-threatening disease in humans or animals; shipped as UN2814 under triple packaging with absorbent and rigid outer packaging.

Category B infectious substance

An infectious substance not meeting Category A criteria; shipped as UN3373 using triple packaging with absorbent material and a rigid outer container.

Respirator fit testing

Formal test verifying a tight-fitting respirator seals to the user's face; required before use and periodically, and whenever facial features or equipment change.

PPE doffing order

Remove contaminated PPE in a sequence that avoids self-contamination, typically gloves last, with hand hygiene immediately after removal and before leaving the laboratory.

Double gloving

Wearing two pairs of gloves for high-risk procedures to reduce contamination risk; the outer pair is removed first and hand hygiene follows.

Post-exposure prophylaxis

Medical intervention after a confirmed or suspected exposure, such as needlestick or splash, including wound care, source evaluation, and agent-specific prophylaxis per protocol.

Spaulding classification

Categorizes medical items as critical (require sterilization), semicritical (require high-level disinfection), or noncritical (require low-level disinfection) based on contact with body sites.

Chlorine disinfectant concentrations

Hypochlorite solutions: about 0.5–1% (5,000–10,000 ppm) for blood spills and about 10% (5,000 ppm) for general surfaces; prepare fresh and respect contact time.

Contact time

The duration a disinfectant must remain wet on a surface to achieve the labeled kill claim; organic matter reduces efficacy, so surfaces are cleaned first.

Biological indicator

A preparation of known resistant spores (e.g., Geobacillus stearothermophilus for steam) used to verify that a sterilization cycle achieved lethality.

70% alcohol efficacy

Seventy percent ethanol or isopropanol is an effective surface disinfectant because water aids protein denaturation; alcohols are not sporicidal and require wet contact time.

Autoclave parameters

Typical steam sterilization uses 121°C at about 15 psi for 15–30 minutes (gravity displacement) or 134°C for shorter cycles, with physical, chemical, and biological monitoring.

Sharps waste disposal

Sharps are placed in puncture-resistant, leak-proof, labeled containers at the point of generation and never compacted, recapped, or discarded in general trash.

Infectious waste treatment

Cultures, contaminated materials, and blood-soaked items are treated by validated autoclaving, incineration, or approved alternative before disposal, with efficacy verified by biological indicators.

Waste segregation

Separating sharps, infectious, pathological, chemical, and general waste at the point of generation prevents cross-contamination and ensures each stream is handled by the correct process.

Select agent program

Regulatory framework (e.g., U.S. 42 CFR 73, 9 CFR 121, 7 CFR 331) requiring registration, security, inventory, and transfer controls for listed high-consequence agents and toxins.

Bloodborne Pathogens Standard

OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1030 requires an exposure control plan, training, hepatitis B vaccination offer, PPE, and post-exposure evaluation for workers with occupational exposure.

Institutional Biosafety Committee

Committee that reviews and approves recombinant DNA research and other higher-risk work, sets containment requirements, and oversees compliance with institutional and national biosafety policy.

Dual-use research of concern

Research with high-consequence agents that could be directly misapplied to pose a significant threat; requires additional review, risk mitigation, and oversight.

Biosafety officer role

Position responsible for program oversight, risk assessment support, incident investigation, training coordination, equipment certification tracking, and liaison with regulators and committees.