We have had several labs work with BSL2 materials....

First, everyone involved in this project should be aware of the CDC's BMBL as an extremely useful resource, available at http://www.cdc.gov/biosafety/publications/bmbl5/.  It will give you information regarding what the laboratory requirements are in terms of facilities and practices.

We have established an Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) whose mandate (from the College's president) is to review all research covered by the NIH Recombinant DNA guidelines, any infectious materials (so capture BSL2) and any materials covered under OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogen Standard.  The Committee consists of several biology department members, two community representatives, and me (as Biosafety Officer).   Before research with any materials/organisms which fall under one or more of these categories can begin, we require that the faculty supervisor prepare a protocol which details the experiment and the location(s) where all activities will take place (some instruments may not be in their lab, what work will be performed in a biosafety cabinet versus on the bench, etc).  We are into specifics, so the disinfectant being used has to be named, the steps occuring must be described, etc.  The faculty member presents the protocol and takes questions for about 10-15 minutes at the IBC meeting; we then go into closed session and typically require only a few edits.  However, depending on the work proposed, we have suggested additional containment (the use of safety caps when centrifuging, for example) or other protocol modifications.   The PI also has to write up a short biosafety manual, which states what PPE will be required, discusses the major routes of entry,  how waste will be handled, and how chemical spills will be addressed.  The idea behind all of this is that these are training documents for the student, so they understand what they are doing and why they can't do the work in another space or another manner (for example, it may be more convenient to vortex on the bench, but that is something our IBC has not permitted).  

This approach works well for us; it provides security in knowing that students are properly trained and following procedures reviewed for safety and the research does 'get done'.  Initially, faculty were afraid that if they switched buffer solutions or made some other small non-hazardous change they would have to go through this process again, but that is not how this committee operates--we're not on a 'witch hunt' to prevent research-- and after about 6 years of this process, we now have substantial credibility.  

Depending on the structure and culture of your institution, this route may not work for you or your researchers.  

I would say that training and supervision of the student(s) is extremely important....and I really like having the committee structure.  The American Biosafety Association (ABSA, www.absa.org) has a listserv which I have found extremely useful for these sorts of issues....

good luck!

Margaret

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