Lecture Notes: LABORATORY ANIMAL HOUSE DESIGN & SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS
Structure
that frame structures do not interfere with room expansion and collapse
Single vs multi
Storey or not is dependent on site availability and size
always plant room above for air cleaning and circulation
Services
electricity, water, heat, laboratory gasses, drainage
Functional relationships
Layout is critical for successful interaction of players- people, animals, materials
Reception, Quarantine, Animal Holding Room, Equipment Room, Storage,
Decontamination area, Cage wash, Procedure Room, Surgical/Specialised Procedure
Room, Drug cabinet/Room, Post Mortem Room, Waste Room, Incineration
Safety and efficiency without crossing especially “dirty” and “clean” items/areas
Single vs double corridor system make segregation of clean and dirty materials
Storage
Priority space commitment is for animal holding, procedure room, plant/mechanics
room
Storage for bedding, feed
Storage may be lower spec and outside the main facility for equipment that is
infrequently used or work with suppliers to develop just-in-time supply methods
Corridors
Essential but take up a lot of space
Must be wide enough to allow easy flow of people and materials
Single corridor recommended to be minimum 2.1m width
Dual corridor may be narrower since there is no two way traffic; allows easier separation
of clean and dirty materials but costly on space
Doors
Generally 1.1-1.2m wide to allow movement of people and materials
For safety doors should open into the room and not into the corridor
Sliding doors (more expensive)
Should resist ingress of moisture
Should contain or exclude rodents
Observation/Vision panels should be provided
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Lifts
When animal house is multi-storey due to limitation of space
Dual lifts strongly recommended with separation of clean and dirty functions
Windows
Initially only few windows were factored as they were considered weak points for
security and secondly make control of photoperiods difficult
Recently considered sunlight as an important and positive effect on workers hence
placement of windows in admin areas or an outside corridor
Access to daylight in some animals e.g. dogs, NHPs is considered as environment
enrichment
Artificial light (tube lights) is considered an adequate alternative
Floors and drains
Should be made from robust and durable material easy to clean and disinfect
Floor should be seamless and avoid edges and crevices where dirt may hide
Drains are best avoided but is essential in large animal facilities due to cleaning
procedures
Where drains are provided drain traps should be filled with water to prevent ingress of
rodents
Walls
Smooth, moisture resistant surface to withstand regular cleaning and disinfection
Much like hospital setup
Attention to ceiling and floor joints to ensure seamless flow
Ceilings
Should be smooth to avoid dirt traps
Depending on function, they should be moisture resistant and capable of cleaning with
lots of water and disinfection
Design should as much as possible avoid access via the ceiling to conduct maintenance
eg lights, ventilation etc
Drinking water for animals
Animals should be supplied with uncontaminated water
Precise quality is dependent on health and immune status of animals concerned eg barrier
animals may need filter, chlorinated and sterilized water; Conventional animal house
(municipal water)
Supply systems- automatic, water bottle, water pouches
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Table 1: attributes of different animal drinking water system
AUTOMATIC SYSTEM BOTTLES POUCHES
Capital outlay: pouch making
Relatively cheap but bottle
process may be expensive but
Expensive initial outlay washing equipment can be
ready-made pouches remove this
expensive
cost
Can be labour intensive
Low labour
especially if washing Low labour requirement
requirements
process is not automated
Constant supply but
Water levels require Water levels can be checked but
system needs regular
constant checking not as frequently as with bottles
checks
Failures may not be
Failures generally obvious Failures generally obvious
obvious
Difficult to avoid
Flood limited to volume Flooding limited to volume within
flooding in conjunction
within bottle the pouch
with solid-floored cages
Difficult to measure Easy to measure water
Easy to measure consumption
water consumption consumption
Easy to administer
Difficult to administer Easy to administer treatment in
treatment in water to
treatment in small water to animals within an
animals within an
number of animals individual cage
individual cage
Procedure Rooms
To conduct routine and common activities such as dosing, collecting samples, making
observations
Same space can be suitable for diverse activities
Should be close to holding area, well lit and sufficient space to allow for equipment
Will contain lab benches, cupboards, a sink, electrical and data sockets
See & discuss sketch outlay
Cage wash facilities
Considered the biggest exposure of laboratory animal allergens
Specialised equipment to reduce the exposure which draw air from the front to the rear,
filter and recirculate
Environmental Specifications
Key area in design and construction of animal facilities
National Guidelines to achieve compliance in recommendations
Macroenvironment (room environment) vs microenvironment (cage environment)
1. Temperature- animals should be kept within their thermoregulatory zones
2. Humidity- published guidelines recommend RH which avoid extremes eg
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low RH - heat loss and ringtail in some rodents;
high RH - rapid increase of ammonia in cages
ventilation system must be set to meet these limits
3. Sound, noise and vibration
sudden loud bang vs constant background noise
loud barking by dogs and siting of animal facility, workers welfare
rodents have a different hearing range to humans so avoid source of ultrasound
4. Light- aim of light should be to attain the following
Sufficient light to inspect animals
Sufficient to conduct procedures
Ensure light levels in animal environment are low enough to avoid retinal
degeneration
Provide a means of controlling photoperiodism (including reverse light cycles that
allow experiments to be conducted during their active phase)
Provision of pleasant working environment
5. Heating, Ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems
Ventilation
a. to supply adequate oxygen, remove excess heat generated by animals,
people and equipment, extract waste gasses and particulates to maintain an
appropriate RH
b. maintain pressure differences between different parts of the facility
c. Ventilation should not create draughts which is unpleasant to the occupants
HVAC system can be horizontal or vertical
HVAC must be set to achieve the target noise levels
Individually ventilated cage systems (IVC) and integration with HVAC
IVC delivers and extracts air from each animal cage
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SAFETY IN THE ANIMAL HOUSE
Basic principles of laboratory safety
1. Learn to care about your health & safety
2. Learn to recognize hazards and how to protect yourself
3. Create safe and healthy working environment (OSHA 2007)
4. Practice safe containment methods.
Containment- safe methods for managing infectious materials to reduce or eliminate
exposure of lab workers and the environment
Primary containment- protection of personnel and immediate lab environment through
appropriate PPE and good microbiological technique
Secondary containment- protection of the environment external to the laboratory;
includes good microbiological techniques and practice, PPE and facility design.
Risk assessment determines the combination of the three elements
Risk Groups and Biosafety levels
RISK GROUP 1:
no or very low individual and community risk
unlikely to cause human/animal disease eg Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus
handled in Biosafety Level 1- not necessarily separated from rest of lab traffic; open
bench worktops
Lab workers have specific training in procedures conducted in the lab
Good microbiological technique and practice, including basic PPE (lab coat, gloves etc)
Supervision by a senior scientist with general training in microbiology
RISK GROUP 2 AND BIOSAFETY LEVEL 2:
Moderate individual risk, low community risk
Likely to cause human/animal disease and exposure may lead to serious infection
Exposure usually through accidental percutaneous mucous membrane exposure
Organisms not known to be transmitted through aerosol means
But treatment and control measures are available
Example- HIV, Lesihmaniasis, toxoplasmosis, trypanosomiasis
Handling at BSL2: use of PPE, protective signs, biological safety cabinet (BSC)
RISK GROUP 3 AND BIOSAFETY LEVEL 3:
High individual and moderate community risk
Will cause serious human/animal disease but do not ordinarily spread from one
individual to another eg Mycobactarium tuberculosis
Effective treatment and preventive measures are available
Handling under BSL3 with emphasis on primary and secondary containment
All manipulations must be in BSC in specialised institutions/laboratories
Controlled access, ventilation requirements that minimise release of infectious aerosol
Facility design to minimise environment contamination
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RISK GROUP 4 AND BIOSAFETY LEVEL 4:
High individual and community risk
Microorganisms cause serious human/animal disease
Readily transmitted from individual to another, directly or indirectly
Effective treatments and control measure are not available eg haemorrhagic viruses eg
Ebola, Marbug virus
Manipulated in BSL 4 with complete isolation both physically (building usually physically
separated) and workers in full body, air-supplied positive-pressure personnel suit
The biohazard sign
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