Appropriate MOPP level for BSL-X

[mmartin798]

Just curious if there is a general mapping for MOPP level and BSL. I have some idea; MOPP level 1 for BSL-2, MOPP level 3 for BSL-3, MOPP level 4 for BSL-4. Is there any kind of directive for that sort of thing?

[nuke11]

Originally Posted by mmartin798

Just curious if there is a general mapping for MOPP level and BSL. I have some idea; MOPP level 1 for BSL-2, MOPP level 3 for BSL-3, MOPP level 4 for BSL-4. Is there any kind of directive for that sort of thing?

I'm not sure the 2 are interchangeable or related to each other.

Wouldn't BSL levels be more akin to laboratory's/research and MOPP for the level of potential exposure to nuclear/chemical attack?

[mmartin798]

Originally Posted by nuke11

I'm not sure the 2 are interchangeable or related to each other.

Wouldn't BSL levels be more akin to laboratory's/research and MOPP for the level of potential exposure to nuclear/chemical attack?

You are correct. However since MOPP is used for biological exposure as well, what is the MOPP level for military entry of a BSL-3 lab or area contaminated by the contents of such a lab? That what I am asking.

[nuke11]

Originally Posted by mmartin798

You are correct. However since MOPP is used for biological exposure as well, what is the MOPP level for military entry of a BSL-3 lab or area contaminated by the contents of such a lab? That what I am asking.

I guess you would need to figure out what BSL-3 agents are present.

Looking at https://osp.od.nih.gov/wp-content/up...ml#_Toc3114384 we can get a listing of what are considered BSL-3 Agents.

Now we would need to know what the lab may have had in inventory. At a minimum I would be guessing MOPP-3 and more likely MOPP-4 would be standard when entering any BSL-3 lab or area. MOPP-0 thru 2 would be bad if the lab had Fungal BSL-3 agents. Then MOPP-3 would be bad if they had BSL-3 Bacterial agents.

Just some ideas.

So I would say MOPP-4 in all cases as it is the safest.

[StainlessSteelCynic]

I'll add my voice to nuke11's.
I used to work in a laboratory for the mining industry so we dealt with many levels of chemical safety. For example I dealt with cyanide, caustic soda and hydroflouric, sulphuric, phosphoric, nitric & hydrochloric acids on a daily to weekly basis.
All our personal protective equipment was designed to counter chemicals and it had no biological protection capacity. We were not rated for bio-agents and therefore didn't need that level of protection.

So what I'm saying is, while lower MOPP levels would be fine for dealing with most chemicals, it's only the highest MOPP level that could effectively counter biological contamination.
I'm not personally up to speed on MOPP levels (because I was in the Aussie Army Reserve and that was over 20 years ago now) but a quick check on Google shows that only at MOPP Level 3 is the mask required to be worn. While the mask protects against bio-agents, the lower levels of MOPP are simply not sufficient protection for BSL considerations. Without the mask actually being worn, a fair number of bio-agents will easily get into your body through respiration let alone through any skin contact and even at MOPP Lvl 3, the gloves aren't worn.

So yes, I'm arguing strongly in favour of nuke11's opinion.
Part of the reason I argue for MOPP Lvl 4 even with lower levels of BSL is that unless a person is specifically trained to recognize the various bio-agents and their methods of contamination, they are unlikely to really know if the bio-agent is safe to handle without the use of a full suite of PPE.