ASHRAE Seminar Recording

Seminar 12. Biocontainment Facility Design, Commissioning and Certification Strategies

2015 ASHRAE Annual Conference

Biocontainment facilities involved detailed design, commissioning and regular testing. This session addresses opportunities to simplify designs and develop thorough commissioning and annual recertification procedures. Attendees learn about the details of biocontainment design and how this will impact the commissioning and recertification processes.

  • Design Strategies for Elimination of Air Flow Reversal in Bsl-3 Facilities
    Chris Kiley, P.E., Member, Merrick & Company, Atlanta, GA
    Successful performance testing of BSL-3 Facilities involves coordination with commissioning and start-up teams to allow for effective and efficient system and integrated system testing.  The dynamic testing to prevent flow reversal can also be addressed during early design phases.  System sizing impacts and options on component selection will be presented.
  • Commissioning and Beyond: Annual Certification and Commissioning of Biocontainment Facilities
    Scott Rusk, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
    This seminar will present information for design engineers, commissioning engineers and facility owners to learn how design, commissioning, initial stand-up and annual verification of facility performance are integrated for successful project completion.  This presentation will identify key features of facility HVAC systems and critical components necessary for successful and continuous operations of biocontainment facilities.  Commissioning protocols alone do not ensure that a facility or its research programs will be authorized to perform studies on high consequence diseases. Strategies, requirements and best practices to include standards for biocontainment design, ANSI Z9.14, and the Federal Select Agent Program BSL-3/ABSL-3 Verification policy will be presented.  Attendees will learn the basis of these requirements and standards and how they interact with owner and science driven operational needs.   An example of an actual infectious disease study that was designed specifically to test and verify procedures, practices and facility performance will be provided.  This study represents a unique and valuable approach in demonstrating ability to safely conduct high consequence pathogen research.  The study results show the ability to contain and control infectious materials as intended.  Facility features that aid in successful research activities will be discussed.
  • Biocontainment Ventilation: Complex or Simple Design
    John Keene, Ph.D., Global Biohazard Technologies, Midlothian, VA
    Biocontainment facilities are required to be reliable.  Design for mechanical systems are often complex.  There are opportunities for simplified designs that can make operations more reliable and save costs for commissioning and annual certification.  Some of these design options will be presented that designers may use on future biocontainment facility designs.
  • Commissioning Strategies for Effective Functional Testing and Integrated System Testing of Bsl-3 Facilities
    Dan Cook, Cornerstone Commissioning, Inc., Exeter, NH
    Biosafety Level Three (BSL-3) labs follow the requirements described in the Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL), However, facilities are different.  There are different physical sizes, layouts, equipment selection, stand alone or inside a conventional building and of course different people designing, constructing and commissioning them.

    The most challenging criteria in the BMBL is the no reversal of airflow requirement.

    The regulating agencies (CDC, NIH and USDA) describe the failure condition as:

    1)      Exhaust Fan Failures

    2)      Power Failures

    This presentation will address the planning and execution of Functional Performance Testing and Integrated System Testing.