Unit 1: Biosafety - Practice Quiz

1 What does the term biosafety primarily refer to?

2 Biosafety measures are mainly designed to protect which of the following?

3 Which organization publishes the widely used Laboratory Biosafety Manual?

4 The 1975 conference that laid down early guidelines for recombinant DNA safety was held at which location?

5 What is the main function of a Biological Safety Cabinet (BSC)?

6 Which type of filter is used in Biological Safety Cabinets to trap airborne particles?

7 Which class of Biological Safety Cabinet provides protection to the worker but not to the product or sample?

8 Which Biological Safety Cabinet class is a completely enclosed, gas-tight unit used for the most dangerous agents?

9 In biosafety, what does the term containment describe?

10 Gloves, gowns, and safety cabinets are examples of which type of containment?

11 Facility design features such as special ventilation and airlocks are examples of which type of containment?

12 How many biosafety levels (BSL) are commonly recognized?

13 Which biosafety level is suitable for well-characterized agents that do not usually cause disease in healthy adults?

14 Which biosafety level is the highest and used for dangerous agents with a high risk of aerosol transmission and no available treatment?

15 At which biosafety level are workers typically required to use a full-body, air-supplied positive pressure suit?

16 Which biosafety level requires practices such as limited access, biohazard warning signs, and work with agents that cause moderate disease via ingestion or exposure?

17 Non-pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli (such as K-12) are typically handled at which biosafety level?

18 Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which spreads through infectious aerosols, is generally handled at which biosafety level?

19 The Ebola virus is classified for handling at which biosafety level?

20 The containment level used when working with infected animals is commonly abbreviated as:

21 A researcher needs to work with a volatile radioactive chemical that is also biologically hazardous. Which class of Biological Safety Cabinet (BSC) should be selected?

22 Why does a Class I Biological Safety Cabinet fail to protect the sample from contamination, unlike a Class II cabinet?

23 An agent is transmissible by the aerosol route and can cause serious or lethal disease, but effective treatment and preventive vaccines are available. Which biosafety level is most appropriate?

24 Which combination of engineering controls is a defining requirement of a BSL-3 laboratory but NOT of a BSL-2 laboratory?

25 In biocontainment terminology, what does the concept of "secondary barriers" primarily refer to?

26 Which three elements together constitute the primary means of containment described in biosafety guidelines?

27 Bacillus anthracis handled in a standard diagnostic laboratory (non-aerosol-producing procedures) is typically assigned to which biosafety level?

28 Ebola virus and Marburg virus must be handled under which biosafety level due to the lack of available vaccines or effective therapy and their high mortality?

29 The first classification of microorganisms into risk groups and the foundations of modern biosafety practice were significantly shaped by which organization's guidelines?

30 The 1975 Asilomar Conference was a landmark event in biosafety history primarily because it addressed the safety concerns arising from which emerging technology?

31 Which statement best distinguishes biosafety from biosecurity?

32 When assigning a biosafety level to work with a particular agent, which factor is generally considered the MOST important?

33 A Class II Type A2 cabinet exhausts air through a thimble (canopy) connection to a Type A2 cabinet that is connected to the building exhaust. Approximately what proportion of the air is typically recirculated within the cabinet?

34 A worker keeps a Bunsen burner flame lit inside a Class II BSC. Why is this practice discouraged?

35 When working with animals infected with a BSL-3 agent, which containment designation is applied to the animal facility?

36 Why may animal biosafety levels require additional precautions beyond those of the equivalent laboratory biosafety level?

37 A BSL-4 suit laboratory differs fundamentally from a BSL-4 cabinet laboratory in that personnel in the suit lab are protected primarily by which means?

38 Escherichia coli K-12 laboratory strains, which are non-pathogenic and well-characterized, are generally handled at which biosafety level?

39 A Class III biological safety cabinet is considered a maximum-containment primary barrier chiefly because it:

40 A laboratory plans large-volume, high-concentration cultures of an agent normally handled at BSL-2. What is the recommended approach regarding containment?

41 A researcher must work with a volatile radionuclide-labeled compound that is also an infectious aerosol hazard. Which biological safety cabinet is appropriate, and why?

42 In a Class II Type A2 cabinet, approximately what fraction of air is recirculated back into the work zone versus exhausted?

43 Why does a Class I biological safety cabinet protect the operator and environment but NOT the product?

44 The concept of "primary containment" in a biosafety facility specifically refers to:

45 A laboratory handles an agent that causes serious disease, may transmit via aerosol, but for which effective treatment and preventive measures exist. Sealed windows, directional inward airflow, and an anteroom for entry are required. Which biosafety level is indicated?

46 Which combination of features distinguishes BSL-4 from BSL-3 practice?

47 A Class III biological safety cabinet differs fundamentally from Class II because it:

48 The 1975 Asilomar Conference on Recombinant DNA is historically significant to biosafety because it:

49 Diagnostic and clinical work with Mycobacterium tuberculosis cultures is assigned which biosafety level, and why?

50 Which grouping correctly lists agents that require BSL-4 containment?

51 The Animal Biosafety Level (ABSL) designation ABSL-3 adds which key consideration beyond the corresponding BSL-3 laboratory requirements?

52 The typical minimum inflow (face) velocity maintained at the sash opening of a Class II BSC to ensure operator protection is approximately:

53 Why must a HEPA filter be certified to remove particles of specifically, rather than only larger particles?

54 At BSL-2, when must work be conducted inside a biological safety cabinet rather than on the open bench?

55 The core principle of "risk assessment" in biosafety involves matching containment to which combination of factors?

56 A clinical lab receives an unidentified specimen from a patient with a suspected but unconfirmed exotic hemorrhagic fever. Pending identification, at minimum which practice is most appropriate?

57 Placing a Bunsen burner inside a Class II BSC is discouraged primarily because:

58 Arnold Wedum is recognized in biosafety history primarily for:

59 HIV research is generally conducted at BSL-2 with BSL-3 practices, but scaled-up or concentrated virus production shifts to BSL-3. What underlying principle explains this change?

60 In a BSL-3 facility, directional airflow must ensure that air moves: