SPECIALIST FACILITIES
M&E service penetrations, and therefore possible routes of gas escape, must be identified and sealed with a specifically selected transit seal. Traps are installed to make drains gas-proof when required, and special materials that do not absorb and then slowly leach gases must be selected for walls, ceilings, and floors. Furniture should be free-standing, and fixing to a penetration of the structure should be designed out wherever possible. Wall, floor, and ceiling finishes should be homogenous and seamless.
Security
“We ignore the link between health security and international security at our peril.” – Bill Gates. The spread of biological knowledge and techniques online means a growing potential for terrorists to try to carry out a biological attack. Dealing with the threat presented by the possibility of highly dangerous pathogens escaping from the laboratory due to terrorist attacks is high on the UK, and indeed also the global, agenda. Last year, Bill Gates addressed the Munich Security Conference to warn about the danger of biological warfare. In putting forward his case for stronger health systems and surveillance, he gave this chilling statistic: “Whether it occurs by a quirk of nature or at the hand of a terrorist, epidemiologists say a fast-moving airborne pathogen could kill more than 30 million people in less than a year.”
In July this year, the Government published its first ever biosecurity strategy (UK Biological Security Strategy), a cross-government initiative designed to link the existing efforts on biological risks together under a single strategy approach. The strategy says that a deliberate biological attack on the UK is currently judged unlikely, but that such attacks on the UK or its armed forces ‘are aspects of this risk picture that may become more likely over the longer term’.
Preventing hostile forces entering Making containment laboratories as secure as possible is now an essential part of their design – not only must pathogens be prevented from exiting the room, but hostile forces must be also be prevented from entering in accordance with the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 Part 7: Security of Pathogens and Toxins. This can be achieved through design, choice of building materials, and observance of strict laboratory protocols and behaviour, with the relevant bodies offering guidance in each area, for example: COSHH requires that at CL2 and CL3, access to the laboratory must be limited to authorised persons only, and stresses the importance of the lobby in providing additional protection against unauthorised entrance.
Work with SAPO agents that are also 90 Health Estate Journal October 2018
Mycobacterium tuberculosis – Ziehl-Neelsen stain.
part of Schedule 5 of the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, as modified in Part 7 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 (Extension to Animal Pathogens) Order 2007, must be notified to the Home Office.
Loss Prevention Standard LPS 1175 is another vital reference document. It was put together by the Loss Prevention Certification Board (LPCB), government, police, and insurers, and evaluates and rates the resistance to unauthorised access offered by various physical security products. The LPCB ‘Red Book’ lists products or services that have met certain levels, so that when building a containment laboratory, the contractor can select windows, doors, hatches, and building materials etc, that comply with security requirements.
Counter Terrorism Security Advisers (CTSAs) advise on security provisions at design stage, as well as through the build process, inspecting intermittently during the build before finally signing it off. General improvements in health and safety, and the use of CCTV, access controls, and intruder and ‘man down’ alarms, have also made laboratories safer and more secure for the personnel working in them.
Handover and maintenance Upon completion, the CL3 laboratory must be commissioned to ACDP guidance and COSHH requirements to ensure that it is operating correctly. In MAT’s case, MAT FM is brought in to carry this out, and prior to handover the rooms are pressure decay tested at both negative and positive pressures and leak tested. In line with COSHH requirements, an ongoing service and maintenance plan then provides full verification of the critical ventilation system and an annual major service. This also ensures that the facility is running as cost- and energy- efficiently as possible, as mechanical ventilation is major source of energy use – according to the Carbon Trust, energy consumption can increase by up to 60% if regular maintenance is not undertaken. Dirty or faulty fans, air ducts, and components, directly affect system
efficiency, and will increase running costs and the risk of breakdown. Filters in the HVAC system and safety cabinets are checked as part of MAT FM’s annual service, and can be replaced as necessary. This has to be undertaken in a carefully controlled manner, as clearly the filters in a CL3 laboratory may well contain dangerous pathogens. If the cabinets have been used for biological work, the filter must be fumigated before removal, wrapped in yellow clinical waste sacks, and consigned as infectious special waste. If used for chemical work, the filter must be consigned as cytotoxic special waste. Both require specialist removal and recycling – MAT has a Waste Carrier Licence, and works with a partner company that comes in to dispose of used filters securely. A Waste Disposal Form ensures that all filters can be traced.
Need for trained service engineers Work as specialised as this should always be carried out by service engineers trained in cleanroom maintenance. MAT FM engineers hold qualifications in key areas, including: n Ventilation & Air Conditioning for Authorised Persons (HTM 03).
n Professional Cleanroom Testing. n Airflow Measurements Testing. n Principles of Filter Testing. n Microbiological Safety Cabinet Testing. n Principles and Application of Particle Counting.
n Electrical Training. hej
Steve Stott
After a career spent working in hi- tech medical engineering companies, Steve Stott is now managing director of Medical Air, encompassing Medical Air Technology (MAT) and MAT FM. Under his leadership, the company has seen considerable expansion and delivered on its commitment to providing safe, clean, productive environments for healthcare and life sciences facilities.
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