Biocontainment Plumbing Design
(Room 124 A)
02 Nov 16
8:30 AM
-
9:45 AM
Due to the recent number of events since 9/11 involving hazardous agents such as anthrax, SARS, avian flu, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease), and the Zika virus, the construction of new biocontainment facilities, as well as upgrades and expansions of existing facilities, has increased by governments and universities for research with these agents. This session will generally address the U.S. guidelines and standards for plumbing criteria that may be incorporated within high-containment facilities. Attendees will learn what differentiates BSL-3E from BSL-3 and what is required for BSL-4 as well as what is provided for systems for the different containment levels. The program will review the challenges that affect the design and construction of systems for these projects, materials of construction, and the importance of chemical resistance, system isolation, and the containment and treatment of wastes. Participants will learn what is important about the reliability and redundancy of equipment and services for these spaces and gain an understanding of the maintenance issues with containment facilities and how simple maintenance is not so simple for these facilities. In addition, the program will review partial layouts including drawings and pictures of projects that are in progress or completed. The final message to be learned for plumbing designers and engineers is to not undertake the design of systems for these facilities without fully understanding the aspects of high containment, since mistakes can be catastrophic.