Facility Design and Build,Regulations and Standards,BSL-3,Facility Security,Biocontainment,Regulations

One of the things I recognize is that there are differences of opinion and the need for fresh views in biocontainment. In my initial column, I indicated that from time to time I would get additional viewpoints from others to help balance my “old school” views on containment facilities. I asked Mark Fitzgerald, one of the best young laboratory planners I know, to provide a column. The following is his work with only a few minor edits by me. – Jon Crane

I was browsing some back issues of ALN Magazine online recently and came across an article by Timothy A. Hawthorne and Hossein Davoodi from the November/December 2007 issue entitled “NFPA 150 Animal Housing Facilities: The Road Ahead.” The article has a lot of good information, especially related to the motivation and thought process behind recent changes in NFPA 150. Three underlying principles form the baseline of justification for this standard and its attempts to address issues that are previously silent in the code.

1. Animals are sentient beings with a value greater than that of simple property (i.e. Storage).
2. Animals, both domesticated and feral, lack the ability of self preservation when housed in buildings and other structures.
3. Current building, fire, and life safety codes do not address the life safety of the animals.”

I commend the authors of this article and the technical committee responsible for this Standard for taking the necessary time and effort to address a fundamental failing of the adopted codes related to animal housing facilities. However, implementation of this standard in its current form will have widespread space planning impacts, cost implications, and could functionally prohibit the use of common protocols and equipment within laboratory related Animal Housing Facilities.

To provide a bit of background, NFPA 150, Standard on Firesafety in Racetrack Stables was originally published in 1979 in response to several fires in racetrack stables in 1975. The Standard evolved over the years, and in 2004, the National Fire Protection Association changed NFPA 150 from being the Standard on Firesafety in Racetrack Stables to become more inclusive as the Standard on Fire and Life Safety in Animal Housing Facilities. The current edition was issued on December 9, 2008 with an effective date of December 29, 2008 and it is intended to supersede all previous editions. As we are now in 2009, it may be in effect in your jurisdiction.

In its current form, it includes any animal facility that “requires a permit or license from the local, state, or federal authorities to function.” To my knowledge, the standard is not incorporated by reference in the International Building Code, nor is it adopted by any local, state, or federal jurisdiction. But it may be a sign of things to come, so the industry must be aware of its evolution and provide commentary on the operational and facility implications it creates.

The standard prioritizes the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ), leaving many of its recommendations open to interpretation. Of particular concern are those elements of the standard that could place human occupants of animal housing facilities in harm’s way.