From: Shirilla, Christine
To: City Council
Subject: Biosafety Level 1-pager
Date: Tuesday, June 27, 2023 4:16:44 PM
Attachments: BSL 1-Pager.pdf
Good Afternoon Councilmembers,
My name is Christy Shirilla and I am the Bay Area Policy Manager for Biocom California, the state’s oldest and largest trade association for life science.
I have attached a Biosafety Level 1-pager to help give you a general idea of what Biosafety levels (BSL) are, the strict regulations and containment that must be followed by all BSL labs, and some FAQs about BSL labs.
I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Thank you,
Christine Shirilla
Manager of Public Policy, Bay Area
San Diego | Los Angeles | Bay Area | Sacramento | Washington, D.C. | Tokyo 1 Tower Place, Suite 150 | South San Francisco, CA 94080 (415) 367-4635 | [email protected] | www.biocom.org
Biosafety
Level
BSL-1 BSL-2 BSL-3 BSL-4
Description
Pose low risk to
personnel and
environment.
Unlikely to cause
human or animal
disease.
Pose moderate
individual risk and
low community
risk.
Can cause human
or animal disease
but is unlikely to be
a hazard to the
community or
environment.
Materials are triple
contained via
facility
infrastructure,
personal
protective
equipment (PPE),
and all research
being performed in
an isolated
biosafety cabinet.
Can cause serious
or potentially lethal
disease through
inhalation.
Only exist in
government
facilities such as
the Centers for
Disease Control.
Can produce very
serious disease
and are
untreatable.
Example
Organisms
typically used in
high school labs,
such as E. coli.
Salmonella,
staphylococcus
aureus (staph
infections).
Tuberculosis, West
Nile virus.
Ebola virus.
PPE
Required?
No Yes Yes Yes
Biosafety levels (BSL) outline safeguards designed
to protect lab personnel, as well as the surrounding
environment and community.
There are four biosafety levels, each with its own
specific controls that are required for lab practices,
safety equipment, and facility construction.
www.biocom.org/advocacy
Biosafety Levels:
What Are They?
How many jurisdictions currently disallow BSL at any level? The City of San Carlos in the Bay Area is the only city we are aware of that has proposed a ban on BSL-4. BSL labs are currently allowed by municipal code in every city with life science operations within the regions where Biocom California has a presence (Bay Area, San Diego, and the Greater Los Angeles regions).
"As EHS professionals, we are responsible for evaluating the hazards in the workplace and mitigating the associated risks. We evaluate the chemicals and biologic agents as part of the procurement process to approve them for use in our labs...apply[ing] the hierarchy of controls to minimize employee exposure."
Martha Murray, Sr. Director Environmental, Health, Safety & Security, Altos Labs What happens in an emergency?
In the case of an emergency, safety precautions are in place such as self-closing doors, showers and eye-washing stations, and fire protection and detection systems. For natural disasters (earthquake, flood), a lab is isolated and decommissioned and can only be recommissioned after regulatory approval. Local fire departments and other agencies have specialized training in how to respond to and support facilities in an emergency.
Biosafety Levels:
Frequently Asked Questions
www.biocom.org/advocacy
What is an “unregulated” BSL lab?
There is no such thing as an “unregulated BSL lab." Every BSL lab, whether public or privately funded, is required to comply with regulations at the federal, state, and local levels. All lab procedures are conducted in controlled environments with redundant protective measures. For example, the air coming out of the building exhaust is HEPA filtered and between 68-72 degrees, and is cleaner than the air outside the building. It would be a false equivalency to compare criminal clandestine activity (such as a lab operating in a residential garage) to regulated lab operations creating treatments and cures for diseases.
So how are these labs regulated?
Every research laboratory in California must comply with regulations from approximately 20 federal, state, and local agencies, depending on the research activities. Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL), established by the CDC and NIH, is the cornerstone of biosafety practice in the United States and is used to establish Biosafety levels. The primary regulatory agency enforcing these standards in California is Cal/OSHA, which reviews everything related to BSL when the lab comes online and performs frequent inspections at random to ensure employee and facility safety. Similarly, the California Environmental Protection Agency ensures labs are tracking all materials and that they are disposed of within a closed loop.
From: Terri Cook
To: City Council
Cc: Jozi Plut
Subject: license reader
Date: Saturday, June 24, 2023 7:59:35 PM
Honorable Mayor and Council,
I wanted to comment regarding your item on Tuesday’s meeting related to license plate readers. I am very much opposed to this. Other communities who installed this technology have subsequently removed them (I believe Tiburon being one of them). While I appreciate the end game behind the concept, it feels very Big Brother to me. I recognize that the ideas is to erase data after 30 days, and I understand I’m driving on a public road, but I would rather not feel like my comings and goings are being monitored.
We tried red light cameras and they were a bust. I fear this technology will end up in the same trash can.
Just because this is the “latest and greatest” of tools doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.
In addition, the staff report indicated “no fiscal impact”. I’m not sure I understand this, as certainly there must be a cost for equipment and infrastructure.
Thank you for your consideration of my objections.
Terri Cook