Decontamination Safety
By Kevin Lorcheim
Safety is a complex issue, and in order to fully understand safe use of decontamination agents, it must be examined from many different aspects.
Assessing the Feasibility of Green Cage Wash Chemicals
By Amy Ingraham, BA, RTLAG, Dean Kramer
Finding suitable green products for cage wash operation isn’t always easy.
Are Decontamination Chambers Right For You?
By Kevin Lorcheim
Examining the applications and economies for decontamination of common vivarium equipment and materials.
Redefining Decontamination Safety
By Martin Orlowski
Safe for personnel and equipment—but not for undesirable organisms— hydrogen peroxide vapor is more than a post-event cleaning option.
Since You Asked: “How can we best monitor for sanitation effectiveness?”
By Amy Ingraham, BA, RTLAG
This question was sent in by a reader and it’s one that many other people are probably dealing with as well. We asked Amy Ingraham, RLATG, with Pharmacal Research Laboratories, a leading manufacturer and supplier of high quality sanitation products developed exclusively for the laboratory animal science field, to provide a few thoughts in response to this question.
Rapid Response Decontamination of Biosafety Laboratories and Equipment Using Ionized Hydrogen Peroxide Technology
By Rod Webb, JD
Decontamination of research laboratories such as BSL-3 and BSL-4 facilities, animal research laboratories such as ABSL-3 and ABSL-4 facilities, biosafety cabinets (BSC), and other laboratory equipment is routinely performed at commissioning, decommissioning, project changeover, and annual recertification. These events are typically known in advance and can be well planned and precisely executed. However, when there is an outbreak, spill, exposure, or other event creating an emergency, an immediate response is necessary to contain and minimize the potential harm and restore operations.
How Clean is Clean?
By Steven Feinstein
Understanding the various cleaning levels can help you identify an appropriate safety and decontamination plan for your facility.
Q&A: How can I avoid rust in BSCs while still ensuring proper decontamination?
By Kevin Lorcheim
One of the biggest drawbacks in the surface decontamination of BSCs is that many agents are incompatible with stainless steel, and either pit or rust the surfaces.
Chemical Treatment System for Liquid Effluent
By George P. Cortessis, Peter G. Cortessis, Robert D’Elia
A waste treatment system was designed and built to process liquid effluent from a laboratory/vivarium working with human pathogenic viruses based on de-activation by exposure to aqueous solutions of sodium hypochlorite.
Perspectives in Alkaline Hydrolysis
By Brandon F. Ross, Jack R. Hoff
The commercialization of alkaline hydrolysis technology used in tissue digester systems has led to many new innovations in the process and equipment design — some of which have led consumers to many perceptions and misconceptions regarding the process.
Decontamination of Sensitive Equipment
By Kevin Lorcheim
Not all chlorine dioxides are created equally. The use of pure chlorine dioxide gas successfully decontaminated an imaging laboratory — with the equipment in place.
Validating BSC Contamination
By Kevin Lorcheim
Chlorine dioxide gas is now approved for the decontamination of biological safety cabinets under Annex G of NSF/ANSI 49.
Certification and Risk
By Jon Crane, AIA, LEED AP, Randy Kray, AIA
In this series of columns on certification, we started out discussing certification from the perspective of objective standards.
Decontaminating Equipment
By Alberto Gobbi, D.V.M.
Decontamination with vaporized hydrogen peroxide using a rack washer as a decontamination lock
Decontamination Using Gaseous Chlorine Dioxide
By Paul Lorcheim
Any contamination of pharmaceutical or medical devices can be potentially hazardous to patients as well as costly for producers. Compromise of the decontamination method is no longer a viable alternative.
Hydrogen Peroxide Vapor Bio-decontamination for Equipment
By Mike Wessner, Dave Phillips, Carl Peiffer
The demand for reliable, safe, and effective equipment bio-decontamination service has increased significantly in recent years.
VHP Safety Basics
By Glenn R. Ketcham, CIH, Vince McLeod, CIH
An animal care technician enters the freshly decontaminated animal room to prepare housing for the new colony. Almost immediately, her nose and throat feel a tingling irritation, then she begins coughing and feeling a shortness of breath. Within a few minutes, she begins experiencing a stinging sensation on her skin and her eyes are watering and burning to the point that seeing is difficult.
Sterilization and Hazard Containment
By Jack R. Hoff
For any sterilizer used in a BSL3 or BSL4 application, the issues of safety and containment stems from what occurs during the various phases of the sterilization cycle.
Hydrogen Peroxide Vapor Bio-decontamination of The Jackson Laboratory's New Animal Facility
By Michael Herd, Adam Warner
The demand for safe, effective, and efficient bio-decontamination has increased significantly in recent years. Hydrogen peroxide vapor technology demonstrates both successful and repeatable results.
Chlorine Dioxide Gas Decontamination of the University of Pennsylvania’s George D. Widener Large Animal Hospital Intensive and Neonatal Care Units
By Mark A. Czarneski, Paul Lorcheim, Thomas Boyle, Helen Aceto, Barbara Dallap, Donald Munro, Michael A. Regits, Henry S. Luftman
The George D. Widener Large Animal Hospital (Figure 1) is one of the largest equine hospitals in the United States, serving nearly 6,000 patients yearly. This hospital also serves as an integral part of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine and is located at New Bolton Center, Kennett Square, PA.
CASE STUDY:
Chlorine Dioxide Gas Decontamination of the University of Pennsylvania’s George D. Widener Large Animal Hospital Intensive and Neonatal Care Units