Practical planning for safety is performed by evaluating the reciprocal of safety – namely risk. In biosafety work this “risk assessment” includes a consideration of:

• Agent’s biological and physical nature
• Sources likely to harbor agent
• Host susceptibility
• Procedures that may disseminate the agent
• Best method to effectively inactivate the agent

Specifics of each lab situation also need to be taken into consideration. Solutions are not generic “one size fits all”. There are often a number of routes that can be used to reach the same endpoint of reducing the risks to an acceptable level.