Biological spills are those involving cell lines, human or animal blood, bodily fluids, viral vectors, recombinant/synthetic nucleic acids (r/sNA), biological toxins, or pathogens. Spill response depends on the spill type, volume, location, and if the spill resulted in an individual exposure. For all large spills outside of a Biosafety Cabinet, exit the lab immediately and keep others from entering the area. 
Call 911 for assistance. 

For Small Spills in a Biological Safety Cabinet

• Leave the biological safety cabinet running.
• Wipe down all interior biological safety cabinet surfaces with appropriate disinfectant.
• Wipe down all supplies and equipment in biological safety cabinet.

For Moderate Spills in a Biological Safety Cabinet

• Leave the biological safety cabinet running.
• Follow general spill procedures.
• Wipe down all interior surfaces.
• Determine if spill has gone beyond the work surface, such as on the grilles or inside seams. If yes, disassemble as much of biological safety cabinet as possible for decontamination.
• If the biological safety cabinet has a catch basin below the work surface that may be involved in the spill, flood the basin with disinfectant. Do not use alcohol as a large quantity of alcohol presents a flammable hazard. Clean basin after 30 minutes.
• Autoclave or wipe down all items in biological safety cabinet with disinfectant.
• Let biological safety cabinet run for at least 10 minutes after cleanup.

For Large Spills (Greater Than 100ml) in the Biological Safety Cabinet

• Evacuate room, close doors, prevent others from entering, and wait 30 minutes for aerosols to settle.
• Follow procedure above for small and moderate spills.

Small and Moderate Spills Outside the Biological Safety Cabinet

• Remove any contaminated clothing and put in autoclavable bag. Be aware that autoclaving may damage fabric.
• Notify other workers in the area of the spill, and control traffic through area (e.g., put up 'do not enter' signs, lock doors, etc.).
• Wear shoe covers and safety goggles if spill is on floor; spill may have splashed beyond immediate area of spill.
• Put on gloves and cover spill area with paper towels.
• Pour disinfectant over towels from edges of spill to center. Be careful not to splatter.
• Decontaminate all objects in spill area.
• Allow 30 minutes of contact time.
• Pick up any sharps, including broken glass, with forceps and place in sharps container.
• Use a squeegee (or other appropriate device) and dustpan to recover any shards of broken glass in contaminated liquid. Decontaminate squeegee and dust pan.
• Wipe area with disinfectant and clean paper towels, and put in biohazard bag.
• Remove gloves and foot covers before leaving area of the spill; put in biohazard bag.
• Wash hands.

For Large Spills (Greater Than 100ml) Outside a Biological Safety Cabinet

• Evacuate room, close doors, prevent others from entering, and wait 30 minutes for aerosols to settle.
• Contact the Biological Safety Officer in HSRM (612) 626-6002 to determine if professional decontamination is indicated.

Biological Spills on Protective Clothing and Street Clothes

• For spills on disposable PPE, place in an autoclave bag for sterilization or spray down with disinfectant (10% bleach) and place in a red biohazard bag for disposal.  
• For reusable lab coats, gowns, aprons, etc., carefully remove outer PPE in a manner that minimizes additional surfaces from becoming contaminated.      
• Place items in an autoclave bag for sterilization. If you do not have access to an autoclave, you may bleach (10%) the protective clothing and dispose via a red biohazard bag.
• If the spill gets on your street or personal clothing, carefully remove it and place it into an autoclave bag for sterilization, or bleach (10%) it and dispose of via a red biohazard bag.  
• Wash and areas of exposed skin thoroughly with soap and water.
• For spills outside of the biosafety cabinet or if any type of exposure may have occurred (on skin, aerosols outside of BSC), seek medical attention. Notify your supervisor to complete an online First Report of Injury (eFROI).