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About

Biosafety Essentials and Containment Levels 1 to 3 provides a practical and advanced overview of the principles, practices, controls, and regulatory expectations required to work safely with biological agents in laboratory environments.
This Biosafety Essentials and Containment Levels 1 to 3 course provides in-depth knowledge of biological hazard identification, risk assessment, hazard groups, containment principles, good microbiological practice, laboratory design, access controls, primary and secondary containment, microbiological safety cabinets, personal protective equipment, ventilation, decontamination, disinfection, sterilisation, biological waste management, spill and incident response, equipment testing, containment verification, and health surveillance. The course also covers the practical application of Containment Levels 1, 2, and 3, including risk-based selection of control measures, emergency procedures, documentation, training, regulatory compliance, and inspection readiness. Learners will develop the practical knowledge required to identify biological hazards, assess risks, select appropriate containment measures, respond effectively to incidents, and maintain safe, compliant laboratory operations. Upon successful completion, learners receive a certification demonstrating their understanding and practical application of biosafety principles and containment requirements.

Who Should Enrol?

  • Biosafety and Laboratory Safety Professionals
  • Laboratory Managers and Supervisors
  • Researchers and Laboratory Scientists
  • Microbiology and Molecular Biology Professionals
  • Clinical Diagnostics and Research Laboratory Professionals
  • Biological Safety Officers and Biosafety Advisers
  • Quality Assurance and Laboratory Compliance Professionals
  • Occupational Health and Health & Safety Professionals
  • Professionals working with biological agents at Containment Levels 1 to 3
  • Academic and University Laboratory Professionals
  • Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology, Healthcare, and Research Organisation Professionals
  • Professionals seeking practical knowledge and certification in laboratory biosafety and containment
📢 Every purchase also includes our FREE companion Biosafety Essentials and Containment Levels 1 to 3 eBook, designed to help you apply principles in real-world laboratory practices.

What you will learn

Build advanced knowledge of biosafety principles, biological hazard identification, risk assessment, hazard groups, containment principles, and good microbiological practice for laboratory work with biological agents.

Learn practical approaches to applying Containment Levels 1 to 3, including laboratory design, access controls, primary and secondary containment, microbiological safety cabinets, personal protective equipment, ventilation, and engineering controls.

Develop practical expertise in decontamination, disinfection, sterilisation, biological waste management, spill response, incident management, equipment testing, containment verification, and safe laboratory practices.

Gain an understanding of biosafety governance, regulatory compliance, documentation, health surveillance, training, emergency procedures, risk-based control measures, and inspection readiness for work at Containment Levels 1 to 3.

Course Syllabus

  1. 1.1 Why biosafety is a legal duty, not a preference
  2. 1.2 The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
  3. 1.3 COSHH: the regulations that do the work
  4. 1.4 COSHH Schedule 3 and the containment tables
  5. 1.5 Who does what: HSE, HSENI, ACDP, SACGM and UKHSA
  6. 1.6 Law, approved code, guidance and convention

  1. 2.1 The four hazard groups and the four criteria
  2. 2.2 The Approved List of biological agents
  3. 2.3 Hazard group is not containment level
  4. 2.4 The biological agent risk assessment
  5. 2.5 Assessing the activity, not just the organism
  6. 2.6 Recording, reviewing and defending the assessment

  1. 3.1 Containment level 1
  2. 3.2 The fourteen containment measures
  3. 3.3 Containment level 2: what is required
  4. 3.4 Containment level 2: what is not required
  5. 3.5 Good microbiological practice
  6. 3.6 Local rules and the laboratory code of practice

  1. 4.1 What changes at level 3
  2. 4.2 Airflow, pressure and filtration
  3. 4.3 Sealability and gaseous decontamination
  4. 4.4 Entry, exit, clothing and hygiene
  5. 4.5 Equipment, waste and working practice
  6. 4.6 The numbers that have no legal basis

  1. 5.1 Primary and secondary containment
  2. 5.2 Cabinet classes and what each protects
  3. 5.3 The clean bench is not a safety cabinet
  4. 5.4 Examination, testing and records
  5. 5.5 Siting, installation and room airflow
  6. 5.6 Centrifuges, isolators and other devices

  1. 6.1 Sterilisation, disinfection and decontamination
  2. 6.2 Selecting a disinfectant
  3. 6.3 Concentrations, contact times and what is actually specified
  4. 6.4 Autoclaves: validation and monitoring
  5. 6.5 Gaseous decontamination
  6. 6.6 Waste: segregation, inactivation and consignment

  1. 7.1 When the GMO Regulations apply
  2. 7.2 The GM risk assessment
  3. 7.3 The genetic modification safety committee
  4. 7.4 Classes 1 to 4
  5. 7.5 Notification, consent and the statutory periods
  6. 7.6 Containment measures and good microbiological practice
  7. 7.7 Emergency plans, changes and the public register

  1. 8.1 Notifying the use of biological agents to HSE
  2. 8.2 Animal pathogens and other permits
  3. 8.3 Biosecurity and Schedule 5
  4. 8.4 Spills, exposure and emergency procedures
  5. 8.5 RIDDOR reporting
  6. 8.6 Health surveillance, records and retention
  7. 8.7 Biosafety governance and the safety adviser
  8. 8.8 Inspection readiness

  1. The decision sequence, from classification through to containment and verification
  2. The eight points where laboratory biosafety most often fails
  3. Separating law, approved code, guidance and convention in your own documents
  4. What a biosafety management system contains
  5. Keeping pace with guidance and classification changes

  1. 📘 Bonus: Biosafety Essentials and Containment Levels 1 to 3 eBook (Free with purchase)

Course Benefits

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eBook

Access the course content in eBook format, which can be downloaded and read on your device.

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CPD Points

Gain Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Points, accredited by The Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians of the United Kingdom. These can be used to count towards the distance learning element of any scheme that comes under the umbrella of The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges or any other scheme for which there is mutual recognition.

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Certification

Receive a personal certificate to show your subject knowledge on course completion.

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Affordable

You get excellent value through our cost-effective prices. We can also offer you group discounts on larger purchases.

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Flexibility

The course saves you time through the convenience of online availability. This lets you complete the interactive course at your own comfort.

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Keep Up to Date

You will stay up to date with changes to the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations and its approved code of practice, to the HSE Approved List of biological agents (currently in its sixth edition, approved 24 March 2026), to the Genetically Modified Organisms Contained Use Regulations 2014 and the SACGM guidance, and to the performance standard for microbiological safety cabinets, which was revised into a multi-part series in November 2025.

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Learn from Industry Experts

The content is written by practitioners in laboratory biosafety and GxP quality, and is built directly on the primary instruments: the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, COSHH and its Schedule 3, the Genetically Modified Organisms Contained Use Regulations 2014, and the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, together with HSE, ACDP, SACGM, UKHSA and World Health Organization guidance. Every requirement taught names the instrument it comes from, and the course is explicit about which widely taught figures have no legal basis.


Our Certified Customers

novartis
NHS
takeda
roche
dhl

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