ccac guidelines on: laboratory animal facilities — characteristics
TRANSCRIPT
Canadian Council on Animal Care
guidelines on:
laboratory animalfacilities —
characteristics,design and
development
© Canadian Council on Animal Care, 2003
ISBN: 0–919087–41–8
Canadian Council on Animal Care1510–130 Albert StreetOttawa ON CANADA
K1P 5G4
http://www.ccac.ca
This document, the CCAC guidelines on: laboratory animal facilities — characteristics, design and development,has been developed by Drs David Neil and Donald McKay with the collaboration of the CCAC FacilitiesStandards Subcommittee:
Dr Laurence Schofield, Department of National Defence (Chair)Dr Michèle Bailey, Cornell UniversityMr Richard Bélanger, Ottawa Health Research InstituteDr Sandra Fry, Canadian Food Inspection AgencyDr Martin Kirk, University of CalgaryDr Donald McKay, University of AlbertaDr David Neil, University of AlbertaDr Elizabeth Rohonczy, Canadian Food Inspection AgencyDr Gilles Demers, Canadian Council on Animal CareDr Gilly Griffin, Canadian Council on Animal Care
In addition, the CCAC is grateful to those individuals and organizations that provided comments onearlier drafts of this guidelines document.
A. PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
SUMMARY OF THE GUIDELINES LISTED IN THIS DOCUMENT . . . . . . . .3
B. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
C. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF ALABORATORY ANIMALFACILITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
1. Functional Imperatives of the Overall Facility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
2. Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
3. Basic Components of an Animal Facility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
3.1 Animal holding rooms . . . . . . . . . .17
3.2 Procedure rooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
3.3 Surgery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
3.4 Clean and dirty loading docks . . .22
3.5 Animal reception area(s) . . . . . . . .22
3.6 Feed and bedding storage . . . . . . .23
3.7 Waste storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
3.8 Waste elimination . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
3.9 Cage and equipment washing and sterilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
3.10 Clean cage and equipment storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
3.11 Sterilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
3.12 Janitorial closets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
3.13 Necropsy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
3.14 Personnel office and reception area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
3.15 Personnel changing rooms . . . . . . .30
3.16 Laundry facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .313.17 Toilets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .313.18 Staff break and meeting room(s) . .313.19 Mechanical and electrical space
and distribution of services . . . . . .313.20 Corridors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .323.21 Barriers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .333.22 Radiation shielded suites . . . . . . . .37
4. Functional Adjacencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . .384.1 Personnel facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . .384.2 Animal holding rooms . . . . . . . . . .404.3 Procedure rooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .404.4 Surgical suite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .414.5 Cage and equipment washing
and sterilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .414.6 Clean cage and equipment
storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .424.7 Clean and dirty loading docks . . .424.8 Animal reception area(s) . . . . . . . .424.9 Feed and bedding storage . . . . . . .434.10 Waste storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .434.11 Necropsy area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .434.12 Mechanical services . . . . . . . . . . . . .434.13 Corridors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
5. Traffic Flow Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .456. Materials and Finishes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
6.1 Walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .476.2 Floors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .476.3 Ceilings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .486.4 Doors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .486.5 Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .496.6 Cabinets and other fixed
equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
CCAC guidelines on: laboratory animal facilities — characteristics, design and development, 2003
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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7. Plumbing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .507.1 Drinking water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .507.2 Animal holding rooms . . . . . . . . . .517.3 Procedure rooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .517.4 Personnel areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .527.5 Cagewash and sterilization
areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .528. Electrical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
8.1 Electrical outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .528.2 Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .538.3 Light fixtures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .538.4 Monitoring and communication . .538.5 Emergency power . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
9. Environmental Monitoring Systems . . .5310. Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5411. Safety Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5412. Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
12.1 Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5512.2 Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5612.3 Heating, ventilation and air
conditioning (HVAC) . . . . . . . . . . .5913. Redundancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
D. THE PROCESS FOR THE PLANNING, DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF ALABORATORY ANIMALFACILITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71
1. Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .711.1 Information gathering and
communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .731.2 Estimating the size and scope
of project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .741.3 Integrating the program . . . . . . . . .76
2. Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .782.1 Conceptual design . . . . . . . . . . . . . .782.2 Preliminary floor plans . . . . . . . . . .782.3 Graphic test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
2.4 Mechanical systems . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
2.5 Detailed design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
3. Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80
4. Commissioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80
E. REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
F. BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82
G. GLOSSARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83
H. ABBREVIATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . .84
APPENDIX ASUMMARY OF RELEVANT GUIDELINES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85
APPENDIX B EXAMPLES OF DETAILED SPACEDESCRIPTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86
APPENDIX C EXCERPTS FROM THE CCAC GUIDE TO THE CARE AND USE OFEXPERIMENTAL ANIMALS . . . . .93
APPENDIX D A SIMPLIFIED EXAMPLE OF PRELIMINARY SIZE ESTIMATION FOR AN ANIMAL FACILITY . . . . .95
APPENDIX E TRAFFIC FLOW PATTERNS . . . .102
APPENDIX F HEAT PRODUCTION . . . . . . . . .106
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Diagram 1:Conventional rodent room . . . . . . . .18
Diagram 2:Conventional dog pen room . . . . . .19
Diagram 3:Rodent holding room with single-sided ventilated racks . . . . . .20
Diagram 4:Rodent room with double-sided ventilated racks, entrance anteroom and integral procedure room . . . . . .20
Diagram 5:Procedure anterooms . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Diagram 6:Key components of a surgical suite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Diagram 7:Key components of a cagewash area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Diagram 8:Key components of a necropsy suite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Diagram 9:Possible locations for mechanical services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Diagram 10:Barrier challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
Diagram 11:Barrier system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
Diagram 12:Flexible barriers — U shaped corridor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
Diagram 13:Flexible barriers — double corridor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Diagram 14:Functional adjacencies — entrance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
Diagram 15:Functional adjacencies — animal holding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Diagram 16:Functional adjacencies — surgery suite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Diagram 17:Functional adjacencies — cagewash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
Diagram 18:Functional adjacencies — clean dock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
Diagram 19:Functional adjacencies — dirty dock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Diagram 20:Clean/dirty corridor system . . . . . .45
LIST OF DIAGRAMS
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Diagram 21:Traffic flow in a conceptual animal facility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Diagram 22:Recessed hose bib detail . . . . . . . . . .51
Diagram 23:Flushing drain pipe . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
Diagram 24:Light mounting for interstitialspace servicing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
Diagram 25:Exhaust filter detail . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
Diagram 26:Differential pressure — cascade effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
Diagram 27:Differential pressure —air barrier effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
Diagram 28a):One-sided intake and exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65
Diagram 28b):Central intake and exhaust . . . . . . . .65
Diagram 28c): High intake/low exhaust . . . . . . . . .65
Diagram 28d):Mass air displacement . . . . . . . . . . . .65
Diagram 29:Ventilated rack — positive pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
Diagram 30:Ventilated cage — positive pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
Diagram 31:Ventilated rack — negative pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
Diagram 32:Ventilated cage — negative pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
Diagram 33:Ventilated rack — positive/negative pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
Diagram 34:Ventilated cage with scavenging system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
Diagram 35:Dual HVAC system . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
Diagram 36:Conceptual floor plan . . . . . . . . . . . .79
Diagram 37:Preliminary floor plan . . . . . . . . . . . .80
Diagram I:Conventional rodent room . . . . . . . .87
Diagram II:Rodent room with double-sidedventilated racks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
Diagram III:Rodent room with single-sidedventilated racks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
The Canadian Council on Animal Care(CCAC) is responsible for overseeing animaluse in research, teaching and testing. In addi-tion to the Guide to the Care and Use of Experi-mental Animals, vol. 1, 2nd ed. (1993) and vol. 2(1984), which lay down general principles forthe care and use of animals, CCAC also pub-lishes guidelines on issues of current andemerging concerns (http://www.ccac.ca). TheCCAC guidelines on: laboratory animal facilities— characteristics, design and development is theseventh document in this series, and has
been developed by Drs David Neil and Donald McKay, University of Alberta, withthe collaboration of the CCAC Facilities Stan-dards Subcommittee. These guidelines con-centrate on the characteristics of a laboratoryanimal facility and hence do not cover all sub-ject matter discussed in the Guide to the Careand Use of Experimental Animals, vol. 1, Chap-ters II and III (CCAC, 1993). The relevant sec-tions of the Guide should be consulted forareas not covered by these guidelines.
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A. PREFACE
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C. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF ALABORATORY ANIMAL FACILITY
1. Functional Imperatives of theOverall Facility
General Guideline A:
Laboratory animal facilities must be designedto facilitate sanitation processes.p. 15
General Guideline B:
Materials and finishes should be durable,impervious, and resistant to water and chem-icals used in their sanitation.p. 15
General Guideline C:
Appropriately-sized sanitation and, if re-quired, sterilization equipment (e.g., cagewashers and autoclaves) must be available toaccommodate the needs of the facility.p. 15
General Guideline D:
Good quality air at the appropriate tempera-ture and humidity levels must be available tothe animals at all times.p. 15
General Guideline E:
Security systems that limit access to author-ized individuals only must be in place.p. 15
General Guideline F:
Groups of animals of different or unknownhealth status should be housed separately.p. 15
General Guideline G:
Designated area(s) should be available withinall laboratory animal facilities to carry outanimal procedures.p. 15
General Guideline H:
Adequate storage should be available for allcages and equipment not in current use.p. 15
General Guideline I:
Clean activities and dirty activities should besegregated within the facility to reduce thepotential for cross-contamination.p. 16
2. Location
Guideline 1:
Laboratory animal facilities should be locatedto facilitate the receipt of animals and sup-plies, as well as the removal of wastes, andshould be accessible to users.p. 16
Guideline 2:
Laboratory animal facilities should be locatedto preclude both public access and the needfor movement of animals and dirty cagesthrough public areas.p. 16
Guideline 3:
Laboratory animal facilities must have accessto reliable services, including water, electricityand sewage disposal.p. 16
Guideline 4:
Laboratory animal facilities must be locatedso as to ensure access to a high-quality source
SUMMARY OF THE GUIDELINES LISTED IN THIS DOCUMENT
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of air. They should be located so that exhaustair does not enter the facility or other build-ings. If this is not feasible, the incoming airand/or exhaust must be treated appropriately.p. 16
3. Basic Components of an AnimalFacility
Guideline 5:
Separate animal holding rooms should beavailable for: 1) each species; 2) each group ofanimals of different health status within aspecies; and 3) different animal use where thecare and use regimes differ significantly.Section 3.1 Animal holding rooms, p. 17
Guideline 6:
The size of an animal holding room should bedetermined by the species, the number of ani-mals to be housed, the type of housing, theproposed animal use and the services needed.The room should hold the animals comfort-ably in a suitable environment with sufficientspace to service the animals.Section 3.1 Animal holding rooms, p. 17
Guideline 7:
Invasive procedures that may cause distressto other animals should be conducted in aprocedure room rather than in an animalholding room.Section 3.2 Procedure rooms, p. 18
Guideline 8:
Well-appointed procedure rooms should beavailable within the animal facility to reducethe need to transport animals to laboratorieslocated outside the facility.Section 3.2 Procedure rooms, p. 18
Guideline 9:
A separate procedure room should be usedwhen specialized equipment is requiredand/or procedures are being conducted thatrequire minimal distraction.Section 3.2 Procedure rooms, p. 19
Guideline 10:
Surgery must be performed under asepticconditions using currently acceptable veteri-nary standards.Section 3.3 Surgery, p. 21
Guideline 11:
The receipt and disposal of clean materials(e.g., virus antibody-free animals, feed andbedding) and dirty materials (e.g., animalsfrom random sources and soiled bedding)should be segregated. The loading dock(s)must be designed to restrict the entry of ver-min into the animal facility.Section 3.4 Clean and dirty loading docks, p. 22
Guideline 12:
There should be a separately ventilated areawhere animals can be uncrated, examinedand held, if required, under appropriate envi-ronmental conditions before being introducedto an animal holding room.Section 3.5 Animal reception areas(s), p. 22
Guideline 13:
Animal feed and bedding must be stored in avermin-proof room, and should not be storeddirectly on the floor.Section 3.6 Feed and bedding storage, p. 23
Guideline 14:
The waste storage area must be large enoughto accommodate all waste accumulated bet-ween disposals.Section 3.7 Waste storage, p. 23
Guideline 15:
The ventilation system for the waste storagearea must be designed so that exhaust fromthis area cannot enter any part of the buildingor adjoining buildings.Section 3.7 Waste storage, p. 23
Guideline 16:
Biohazardous waste, hazardous materials andwaste containing radionuclides must bestored separately in appropriately appointed
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areas and disposed of according to all federal,provincial and municipal requirements.Section 3.7 Waste storage, p. 23
Guideline 17:
All waste products must be eliminated in asafe manner. If this cannot be accomplishedthrough existing local services, then appropri-ate space and equipment must be incorpo-rated into the plans to ensure the safe elimi-nation of waste.Section 3.8 Waste elimination, p. 23
Guideline 18:
Clean and dirty activities in the cagewasharea must be segregated.Section 3.9 Cage and equipment washing and steriliza-tion, p. 25
Guideline 19:
The cagewash area must have adequate venti-lation to maintain a safe environment con-ducive to human physical activity and to pre-vent the spread of vapor and contaminants.Section 3.9 Cage and equipment washing and steriliza-tion, p. 25
Guideline 20:
The dirty cage storage area(s) should be largeenough to accommodate all dirty cages await-ing processing, unless there are alternativedesignated dirty staging areas with appropri-ate ventilation.Section 3.9 Cage and equipment washing and steriliza-tion, p. 25
Guideline 21:
The differential pressure on the dirty side ofthe cagewash area must be strongly negativeto all surrounding areas.Section 3.9 Cage and equipment washing and steriliza-tion, p. 26
Guideline 22:
Mechanical cage washers must be of a sizeappropriate for their potential use and musteffectively sanitize the portable cages. The
true efficacy of the cagewash equipment mustbe checked on a regular basis through the useof temperature and microbiological monitoring.Section 3.9 Cage and equipment washing and steriliza-tion, p. 27
Guideline 23:
Mechanical washers and/or designated areasshould be used for pressurized washing oflarge equipment such as racks and large cages.Section 3.9 Cage and equipment washing and steriliza-tion, p. 27
Guideline 24:
Adequate areas for clean equipment storagemust be available to accommodate cleanequipment not in use. Clean equipment mustnot be stored in corridors or animal holdingrooms.Section 3.10 Clean cage and equipment storage, p. 27
Guideline 25:
Sterilization method(s) that are safe and effec-tive for the required need should be selected.Section 3.11 Sterilization, p. 27
Guideline 26:
Appropriate sterilization equipment shouldbe installed in strategic locations where it willbe the most effective, such as within the areain which it will be used or at the transitionbetween zones of the animal facility.Section 3.11 Sterilization, p. 27
Guideline 27:
Cleaning supplies and equipment must not bestored in corridors.Section 3.12 Janitorial closets, p. 28
Guideline 28:
Necropsy facilities should be designed to pro-tect the users and eliminate the potentialspread of agents of laboratory animal disease.Section 3.13 Necropsy, p. 29
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Guideline 29:
Access to the laboratory animal facilityshould be controlled and regulated.Section 3.14 Personnel office and reception area, p. 30
Guideline 30:
Personnel areas should be designed andstrategically located to facilitate and encour-age personal hygiene.Section 3.15 Personnel changing rooms, p. 30
Guideline 31:
Each toilet should be enclosed in a separateroom with the relative air pressure negative tosurrounding areas.Section 3.17 Toilets, p. 31
Guideline 32:
Aerosols associated with toilet flushingshould be minimized by selection of appro-priate equipment and proper placement ofexhaust fans.Section 3.17 Toilets, p. 31
Guideline 33:
Adequate space must be available to accom-modate the mechanical and electrical servicesand to allow servicing of this equipment.Section 3.19 Mechanical and electrical space and distri-bution of services, p. 32
Guideline 34:
Where possible, mechanical and electricalequipment should be located so that they areaccessible from outside animal holding roomsand other critical areas such as surgical andnecropsy suites.Section 3.19 Mechanical and electrical space and distri-bution of services, p. 32
Guideline 35:
Corridors must be wide enough and have suf-ficient protection to permit the largest items ofequipment, such as cage racks, to be movedsafely without causing damage to the facilityor the equipment.Section 3.20 Corridors, p. 32
Guideline 36:
Barriers should be strategically located through-out the laboratory animal facility to minimizethe potential for cross-contamination and to segregate incompatible activities.Section 3.21 Barriers, p. 33
Guideline 37:
Current biosafety guidelines must be con-sulted in all cases where animals are infectedwith known human or animal pathogens.Section 3.21 Barriers, p. 33
Guideline 38:
If an anteroom is to be used as a component ofa barrier system, then it must be large enoughto accommodate the largest materials that willpass through it such that only one door needbe opened at a time.Section 3.21 Barriers, p. 34
Guideline 39:
All suites where sources of radiation are to beused must meet current radiation safetyguidelines as established by the CanadianNuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) andmust be approved for such use by the localradiation safety officer.Section 3.22 Radiation shielded suites, p. 37
Guideline 40:
The radiation hazard area must be separatedfrom other animal housing and work areas, beclearly identified as a hazard area, and haveaccess restricted to necessary personnel only.Section 3.22 Radiation shielded suites, p. 37
4. Functional Adjacencies
Guideline 41:
The components of an animal facility shouldbe organized according to function and shouldpromote and facilitate biosecurity.p. 38
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Guideline 42:
The reception area should be located near themain personnel entrance to the facility.Section 4.1 Personnel facilities, p. 38
Guideline 43:
Change and shower facilities should belocated near the personnel entrance to thefacility and, if required, at the transition areabetween zones within the facility.Section 4.1 Personnel facilities, p. 38
Guideline 44:
Toilets may be placed within barrier units so that personnel do not have to go through a complete change of clothes every time they visit the washroom. For biocontainmentfacilities, current biocontainment guidelinesshould be consulted to determine the accept-ability of washrooms within facilities.Section 4.1 Personnel facilities, p. 38
Guideline 45:
The staff break room should be located at theperimeter of the facility and close to the per-sonnel entrance and changing and showerfacilities.Section 4.1 Personnel facilities, p. 39
Guideline 46:
The cleanest animals in the facility should beeasily serviced from the clean side of the cage-wash or clean cage storage areas, while roomsholding the dirtiest animals in the facilityshould have good access to the dirty side ofthe cagewash area.Section 4.2 Animal holding rooms, p. 40
Guideline 47:
Procedure rooms should be located as close aspossible to the animal holding rooms theywill serve.Section 4.3 Procedure rooms, p. 40
Guideline 48:
The clean side of the cagewash area should belinked to the clean loading dock, beddingstorage area, and clean cage and equipment
storage area. There should also be clean accessback to the animal holding rooms. The dirtyside of the cagewash area should be closelylinked to the waste storage area and the dirtydock. Access from the animal holding roomsto the dirty side of the cage washer is alsorequired.Section 4.5 Cage and equipment washing and steriliza-tion, p. 41
Guideline 49:
The clean cage and equipment storage areashould be located near the clean side of thecage washer and the clean bedding storagearea. There must be clean access from theclean storage area to the animal holdingrooms and to most of the procedure rooms.Section 4.6 Clean cage and equipment storage, p. 42
Guideline 50:
The loading dock(s) must open to the outsideof the facility. The clean dock or port shouldhave access to the clean animal reception areaand the clean feed and bedding storage area.The dirty dock or port should be readilyaccessible to the waste storage area.Section 4.7 Clean and dirty loading docks, p. 42
Guideline 51:
The clean animal reception area should beadjacent to the clean dock. The dirty animalreception area, if required, should be adjacentto the dirty dock.Section 4.8 Animal reception area(s), p. 42
Guideline 52:
The feed storage area must be accessible froma clean receiving area and from the animalholding rooms.Section 4.9 Feed and bedding storage, p. 43
Guideline 53:
The bedding storage area must be accessiblefrom a clean receiving area and the clean sideof the cagewash area, unless the bedding is tobe transferred to the cagewash area via a vac-uum system.Section 4.9 Feed and bedding storage, p. 43
Guideline 54:
The waste storage area should be easily acces-sible from the dirty side of the cagewash area.Section 4.10 Waste storage, p. 43
Guideline 55:
Necropsy is considered a potentially 'dirty'function and, therefore, should be locatednear other dirty functions in the facility, suchas waste storage and disposal (e.g., incinera-tion or hydrolysis).Section 4.11 Necropsy area, p. 43
Guideline 56:
The placement of mechanical systems shouldbe such that servicing has a minimal impacton the facility’s environment. Where possible,mechanical systems should be located so thatthey can be serviced from areas separate fromthe animal holding and manipulation rooms.Section 4.12 Mechanical services, p. 43
Guideline 57:
Corridors must be strategically located so thatthey interconnect the various components ofthe animal facility and enhance efficient traf-fic flow patterns.Section 4.13 Corridors, p. 44
5. Traffic Flow Patterns
Guideline 58:
Traffic flow within an animal facility shouldprogress from the cleanest to the dirtiest partsof the facility.p. 45
6. Materials and Finishes
Guideline 59:
Materials and finishes should be durable,impervious and resistant to water and chemi-cals used in their sanitation. In addition, theymust be resistant to damage by equipmentused in the facility, such as cage racks, or theymust be protected from damage. Ledges,
crevices, cracks and unsealed service penetra-tions that can harbor dirt and vermin shouldbe eliminated wherever possible, and all hol-low doors must be filled or completely sealed.p. 47
Guideline 60:
The direction in which doors swing should besuch that they are safe, do not impede trafficflow and complement the control of airflowwhere required.Section 6.4 Doors, p. 49
Guideline 61:
Cabinetry in an animal holding room shouldbe limited to that which is essential for theproper functioning of the room.Section 6.6 Cabinets and other fixed equipment, p. 49
7. Plumbing
Guideline 62:
Potable water must be available within theanimal facility for both animal and humanconsumption. Water should be of a consis-tently high quality so that it does not affectresearch results.p. 50
Guideline 63:
Ample hot and cold water must be availablethroughout the facility for sanitation purposes.p. 50
Guideline 64:
Water must be available for all safety equip-ment, such as eyewash stations, emergencyshowers and fire sprinkler systems.p. 50
Guideline 65:
Sinks, showers and toilets must be strategi-cally located to accommodate good personalhygiene and to minimize the potential forcontamination.p. 50
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Guideline 66:
Drains must be strategically located in areaswhere water may be used extensively forcleaning. Drains that are not used on a dailybasis should be sealed when not in use orequipped with manual or automatic flushingsystems.p. 50
Guideline 67:
Laboratory biosafety guidelines should beconsulted to determine whether effluent treat-ment is required.p. 50
Guideline 68:
All animal holding rooms and/or their asso-ciated anterooms should have a hand wash-ing sink, preferably located near the door.Section 7.2 Animal holding rooms, p. 51
Guideline 69:
Floor drains should be strategically locatedand designed so that they can be sealed whennot in use or easily flushed to maintain aneffective water trap.Section 7.2 Animal holding rooms, p. 51
8. Electrical
Guideline 70:
All electrical outlets in animal rooms and inother areas where they may be exposed towater must have a ground fault interrupter(GFI) and be fitted with an all-weather cover.Section 8.1 Electrical outlets, p. 52
Guideline 71:
If there is the possibility of using ventilatedcage systems, change hoods or other electricalequipment in an animal room, this should betaken into consideration when planning thelocation and distribution of power to theroom.Section 8.1 Electrical outlets, p. 52
Guideline 72:
All electrical conduits through walls must becompletely sealed to eliminate their potentialuse as routes for vermin or aerosols.Section 8.1 Electrical outlets, p. 52
Guideline 73:
Electrical power outlets for portable equip-ment are required in most rooms of an animalfacility, including animal holding rooms andcorridors. These must be safe for both ani-mals and humans, and must be readily acces-sible without the need for excessive use ofextension cords.Section 8.1 Electrical outlets, p. 52
Guideline 74:
The power for specialized equipment (i.e. cagewashers, autoclaves, surgical lamps, auto-mated plumbing units, etc.) must be sized andinstalled according to the recommendations ofthe manufacturers of the equipment.Section 8.2 Equipment, p. 53
Guideline 75:
All light fixtures throughout the animal facil-ity should be vapor-proof.Section 8.3 Light fixtures, p. 53
Guideline 76:
An emergency power source must be avail-able for all facilities holding animals forresearch, teaching and testing purposes.Section 8.5 Emergency power, p. 53
9. Environmental Monitoring Systems
Guideline 77:
Temperature, relative humidity and differen-tial pressures should be monitored frequentlyin each and every animal holding room.p. 53
11. Safety Equipment
Guideline 78:
All required safety equipment must beinstalled so that it meets safety regulationsbut does not compromise the functionality ofthe laboratory animal facility.p. 54
12. Environment
Guideline 79:
Equipment and activities that generate largeamounts of noise should be sound isolatedfrom the rest of the animal facility.Section 12.1 Sound, p. 55
Guideline 80:
Animals that are very sensitive to noise, suchas rodent breeding colonies, should be locatedas far away as possible from noise-generatingequipment or noisy animals.Section 12.1 Sound, p. 55
Guideline 81:
Animals that produce large amounts of noiseshould be sound isolated from the rest of thefacility.Section 12.1 Sound, p. 55
Guideline 82:
Whenever possible, the frequency of thesound emitted by alarms and bells used in theanimal facility should be selected in a rangethat does not affect the animals. Visual alarmsmay be used as an alternative in some cases.Section 12.1 Sound, p. 55
Guideline 83:
Sound reducing features should be incorpo-rated into the building structure. As well,sound systems should be used to mask noisesgenerated within the facility.Section 12.1 Sound, p. 56
Guideline 84:
In most animal rooms, and especially inrodent rooms, lighting should be designed to
provide at least two levels of intensity duringthe light cycle.Section 12.2 Light, subsection 12.2.1 Photo-intensity, p. 57
Guideline 85:
Diurnal light cycles in animal holding roomsshould be controlled and monitored centrally.Section 12.2 Light, subsection 12.2.2 Photoperiod, p. 57
Guideline 86:
The wavelength of light should simulate thenatural wavelengths of sunlight as closely aspossible.Section 12.2 Light, subsection 12.2.3 Spectral quality, p. 58
Guideline 87:
The heating, ventilation and air conditioning(HVAC) system(s) should provide a healthyand comfortable environment for the animalsand for personnel working in the facility. The system(s) should also be capable of regu-lating the environment within minimallyvariable set limits in order to supply a consis-tently stable environment that will not con-tribute significantly to experimental variabil-ity. This includes the uniformly consistentsupply of quality air to all microenvironmen-tal units within a room.Section 12.3 Heating, ventilation and air conditioning(HVAC), p. 60
Guideline 88:
HVAC systems in laboratory animal facilitiesmust operate continuously 24 hours per day,year round.Section 12.3 Heating, ventilation and air conditioning(HVAC), p. 60
Guideline 89:
The temperature of each animal room shouldbe controllable within ±1°C.Section 12.3 Heating, ventilation and air conditioning(HVAC), subsection 12.3.1 Temperature, p. 60
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Guideline 90:
The temperature of each room should be con-trolled separately.Section 12.3 Heating, ventilation and air conditioning(HVAC), subsection 12.3.1 Temperature, p. 61
Guideline 91:
Relative humidity should be maintainedbetween 40% and 60%, depending on thespecies, and controlled to ±5%.Section 12.3 Heating, ventilation and air conditioning(HVAC), subsection 12.3.2 Relative humidity, p. 61
Guideline 92:
Animal facilities should be supplied with100% fresh air. Air should not be recirculatedwithin the facility.Section 12.3 Heating, ventilation and air conditioning(HVAC), subsection 12.3.3 Fresh air, p. 61
Guideline 93:
There should be no possibility within the sys-tem for cross-contamination of fresh air withexhaust air.Section 12.3 Heating, ventilation and air conditioning(HVAC), subsection 12.3.3 Fresh air, p. 62
Guideline 94:
Air must be exhausted efficiently so that thecontaminants in the facility environment donot accumulate beyond acceptable levels.Section 12.3 Heating, ventilation and air conditioning(HVAC), subsection 12.3.4 Air exhaust, p. 62
Guideline 95:
Exhaust ducts should be fitted with filters atthe room level to reduce the accumulation ofparticulate matter in the duct. All exhaustducts should be tightly sealed.Section 12.3 Heating, ventilation and air conditioning(HVAC), subsection 12.3.4 Air exhaust, p. 62
Guideline 96:
The rate of air exchange within a room mustbe such that clean, fresh air is available to allanimals and personnel at all times. For con-ventional animal holding rooms, the HVACsystem should be capable of supplying andexhausting 15 to 20 air exchanges per hour.Section 12.3 Heating, ventilation and air conditioning(HVAC), subsection 12.3.5 Air exchange, p. 62
Guideline 97:
Differential pressures can be used to create anair barrier between two areas or zones of afacility. Differential pressures between areasof an animal facility should be set so that airflows from the cleaner areas of the animalfacility to the dirtier or potentially contami-nated areas.Section 12.3 Heating, ventilation and air conditioning(HVAC), subsection 12.3.6 Differential pressure, p. 63
Guideline 98:
Air distribution within a room must be suchthat clean, fresh air is available to all animalsand personnel at all times.Section 12.3 Heating, ventilation and air conditioning(HVAC), subsection 12.3.7 Air distribution, p. 64
13. Redundancy
Guideline 99:
HVAC systems should be designed to provideadequate air exchange and maintain criticalair differential pressures during mechanicalbreakdowns and power outages.p. 68
Guideline 100:
All animal facilities must have an emergencyelectrical supply capable of maintaining atleast some of the functions of the HVAC sys-tem and essential services.p. 68
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Facilities for the care and use of all animals inresearch, teaching and testing must be con-ducive to the well-being and safety of the ani-mals, provide an appropriately-appointedand safe workplace for personnel, and estab-lish a stable research environment. The CCACguidelines on: laboratory animal facilities — characteristics, design and development isintended to assist the users and designers oflaboratory animal facilities to achieve theseobjectives. The goal is to promote optimallevels of animal care and facilitate goodresearch without curtailing new and innova-tive ideas for facility design. Therefore, theseguidelines should be viewed as a tool forachieving acceptable standards and not asmandatory instructions.
The renovation or new construction of lab-oratory animal facilities must meet certainbasic functional criteria to be in compliancewith the spirit and intent of the CCAC. Thesebasic criteria are outlined in the text of theseguidelines.
The CCAC guidelines on: laboratory animal facilities — characteristics, design and develop-ment applies to animals such as rats, mice,rabbits, dogs and cats held in controlled envi-ronments, but not to those used in field set-tings. Facilities for farm animals, fish andshort-term holding of captive wildlife aredescribed in other CCAC guidelines (CCACguidelines on: the care and use of farm animals inresearch, teaching and testing, in preparation;CCAC guidelines on: the care and use of fish inresearch, teaching and testing, in preparation;and CCAC guidelines on: the care and use ofwildlife, 2003). However, many of the generalprinciples described within this document areapplicable to most species maintained in cap-tive environments for the purposes ofresearch, teaching and testing.
These guidelines do not attempt to addressbuilding codes or safety codes and standards.
It is the responsibility of consultant architectsand engineers to address these issues in con-cert with the responsible institutional officials.
In the planning and design of biosafety con-tainment facilities, the CCAC guidelines on:laboratory animal facilities — characteristics,design and development should be used in con-junction with current biosafety guidelines,such as the Health Canada (HC) LaboratoryBiosafety Guidelines (1996) and the Agricultureand Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) ContainmentStandards for Veterinary Facilities (1996) (seeAppendix A). Responsibility for the Contain-ment Standards for Veterinary Facilities nowrests with the Biohazard Containment andSafety Division of the Canadian Food Inspec-tion Agency (CFIA) (http://www.inspetion.gc.ca/english/sci/lab/bioe.shtml). Theabove biosafety guidelines must be imple-mented whenever facilities will be used tohouse animals that are experimentallyinfected with human and/or animal patho-gens. The CCAC guidelines on: laboratory ani-mal facilities — characteristics, design and devel-opment refers to barrier systems for reducingor minimizing cross-contamination sincethese are important concepts in all animalfacilities. Barriers are commonly used to sepa-rate animals of different or unknown diseasestatuses, such as dogs, cats, mice, specificpathogen-free (SPF) animals and geneticallymodified animals.
These guidelines are divided into two majorsections: 'The Characteristics of a LaboratoryAnimal Facility' and 'The Process for the Plan-ning, Design and Development of a Labora-tory Animal Facility'. The relevant guidelinesfor the various components or characteristicsof laboratory animal facilities are clearly indi-cated as 'Guidelines' and highlighted in boldprint. These are often followed with discus-sion or information that may be useful in theapplication of the guidelines. 'The Process forthe Planning, Design and Development of a
B. INTRODUCTION
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Laboratory Animal Facility' outlines howthese guidelines can be effectively incorpo-rated into the planning, design and construc-tion of laboratory animal facilities.
These guidelines are intended to be used asthe basis for designing an effective and func-tional laboratory animal facility withoutbeing too prescriptive. Therefore, they shouldbe used not only in the design of new labora-tory animal facilities, but also in the renova-tion of existing facilities. These guidelinesshould be used as standards which existing
facilities strive to meet, with the understand-ing that new facilities are to be built, or reno-vations are to be made, to meet these stan-dards as needs and budget dictate. The over-all aim is to ensure the availability of facilitiesnecessary to maintain appropriate standardsof animal care and use.
Implementation of these guidelines requiresthe commitment of all individuals involved inthe care and use of laboratory animals toexemplary practice in meeting the scientificand humane imperatives of animal-basedresearch, teaching and testing.
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A laboratory animal facility should bedesigned to facilitate animal research and tominimize experimental variables while pro-viding for the physiological, social and behav-ioral requirements of the research animals.This is often a difficult task to accomplish,especially when the diverse needs of differentspecies and the requirements of the experi-ments are taken into consideration. In orderto accommodate these needs, a laboratoryanimal facility usually requires separate areasfor specific functions, specialized rooms andequipment, and closely-controlled environ-ments. Laboratory animal facilities are veryexpensive to build and, therefore, it is impor-tant that any new facility or renovation beprogrammed, designed and built to meet thesize and scope of current needs, and have theflexibility to meet future needs. Despite vary-ing needs and many alternative design solu-tions, there are specific guidelines that shouldbe considered when designing an animalfacility. These recommendations form thebasis for the CCAC guidelines on: laboratoryanimal facilities — characteristics, design anddevelopment.
1. Functional Imperatives of theOverall Facility
The purpose of a laboratory animal facility isto confine animals in comfortable, safe, stableenvironments that are conducive to theresearch, teaching and/or testing require-ments. These animals often vary in theirmicrobial background, and facilities shouldtherefore incorporate barriers and routines tominimize cross-contamination. In addition,these animals defecate and urinate in theircages, thus contaminating their environment.The following general guidelines are meant toaddress these concerns. The application ofthese guidelines will be discussed in moredetail in the sections which follow.
General Guideline A:
Laboratory animal facilities must bedesigned to facilitate sanitation processes.
General Guideline B:
Materials and finishes should be durable,impervious, and resistant to water andchemicals used in their sanitation.
General Guideline C:
Appropriately-sized sanitation and, if re-quired, sterilization equipment (e.g., cagewashers and autoclaves) must be avail-able to accommodate the needs of thefacility.
General Guideline D:
Good quality air at the appropriate temper-ature and humidity levels must be avail-able to the animals at all times.
General Guideline E:
Security systems that limit access toauthorized individuals only must be inplace.
General Guideline F:
Groups of animals of different or unknownhealth status should be housed separately.
General Guideline G:
Designated area(s) should be availablewithin all laboratory animal facilities tocarry out animal procedures.
General Guideline H:
Adequate storage should be available forall cages and equipment not in currentuse.
C. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A LABORATORYANIMAL FACILITY
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General Guideline I:
Clean activities and dirty activities shouldbe segregated within the facility to reducethe potential for cross-contamination.
2. LocationThe choice of site for an animal facility isextremely important and deserves seriousconsideration. Even when animal facilities arein existence, it may be more practical and economical to build a new facility in anotherlocation than to upgrade an existing facility. It can be very difficult, and occasionallyimpossible, to incorporate the sophisticatedmechanical requirements and ideal trafficflow patterns into existing structures.
Guideline 1:
Laboratory animal facilities should belocated to facilitate the receipt of animalsand supplies, as well as the removal ofwastes, and should be accessible to users.
Direct access to the outside for deliveries andwaste disposal is desirable. It is recom-mended that facilities located on upper floorsof a building be serviced by a minimum oftwo elevators, one for clean and one for dirtymaterials, unless stringent measures are takento sanitize the elevator between use. Addi-tional precautions, such as the use of enclosedcontainers for moving animals and materials(e.g., soiled cages), should also be taken, par-ticularly where elevators are not dedicatedstrictly to the animal facilities. Access to theelevator(s) for the animal facilities should beas strictly limited as possible. Where elevatorsare required, it is recommended that theentrance to the elevator be in a vestibule inorder to buffer the changes in differential airpressures created by the movement of the ele-vator in the shaft. It may also be possible todesign the elevator shafts to reduce or elimi-nate this problem (e.g., a loop system).
Guideline 2:
Laboratory animal facilities should belocated to preclude both public access
and the need for movement of animals anddirty cages through public areas.
Animal facilities should be located to deterpublic access or through-traffic, as well as toavoid the movement of animals, cages andwaste through public corridors and elevators.The facilities should be readily accessible toanimal users, yet easily secured. Space tocarry out both routine and experimental pro-cedures should be included within the con-fines of the laboratory animal facility, when-ever possible, to reduce the need to transferanimals to and from investigators' laborato-ries. The movement of animals outside theanimal facility should be discouraged due tostress caused to the animals, effects on re-search, contamination hazards and exposureof individuals outside the facility to laboratoryanimal allergens.
Guideline 3:
Laboratory animal facilities must haveaccess to reliable services, includingwater, electricity and sewage disposal.
Access to public utilities, such as water, gas,electricity and sewage disposal, is essentialand may also be an important economic con-sideration. These services must be reliableand backup plans must be in place in case ofan emergency. The animal facility environ-ments must be maintained as required, 24hours per day, all year round.
Guideline 4:
Laboratory animal facilities must belocated so as to ensure access to a high-quality source of air. They should belocated so that exhaust air does not enterthe facility or other buildings. If this is notfeasible, the incoming air and/or exhaustmust be treated appropriately.
The location of the animal facility within alarger building, or its location relative to sur-rounding buildings (existing or proposed),needs to be carefully studied. A good sourceof fresh air is essential. The need to dischargeequivalent amounts of stale air without con-
taminating the air intakes of other units is crit-ical. Contamination of the air intake of theanimal facility with its own exhaust air (viathe building air envelope) has also beenknown to occur.
In order to address the external adjacencies ofan animal facility and their influence on facil-ity air supply and exhaust, it is recommendedthat the fluid dynamics of the building massand clustering under differing atmosphericconditions be defined. This may be achievedusing computational fluid dynamics. In somecircumstances, it may also be necessary toperform wind tunnel studies to predict per-formance. Relative to the cost of design andconstruction of an animal facility, the cost offluid dynamic studies is modest.
3. Basic Components of an Animal Facility
3.1 Animal holding rooms
It is important when designing animal roomsto consider not only current needs, but alsopossible future requirements. In most animalfacilities, animal use fluctuates according tochanges in research personnel and projects. A versatile holding room will facilitate re-arrangement in order to accommodate thecage racks and ancillary equipment necessaryto house different species. In addition, versa-tile groupings of rooms will permit a varietyof projects to be undertaken over a number ofyears. The ability to modify environmentalparameters is also often necessary to accom-modate various research needs.
Guideline 5:
Separate animal holding rooms should beavailable for: 1) each species; 2) eachgroup of animals of different health statuswithin a species; and 3) different animaluse where the care and use regimes differsignificantly.
Separate animal holding rooms should beavailable for animals of each species and from
each source, and often for individual projects.This permits better experimental control andreduces the potential for a widespread diseaseoutbreak. Exceptions can be made whereinvestigators are using the same species fromthe same source for similar experiments, suchas the production of antibodies in rabbits orthe housing of genetically modified mice.Mixing should be limited to groups that aresocially compatible, of similar health statusand on the same feeding schedule. Wheremixing of animals from different sources isnecessary, specialized room design, equip-ment and/or cages may help to achieve somedegree of isolation (see Appendix B). For ex-ample, the potential for cross-contaminationcan be reduced by using controlled airflowcubicles, portable laminar airflow units andvarious forms of isolator cages used in combi-nation with a change hood. Where necessary,different species (e.g., rats and mice) may behoused in the same vented cage rack.
Separate rooms are required for the quaran-tine and isolation of animals. For example, itmay be necessary to isolate sick animals fromhealthy ones or to quarantine animals thathave been removed from and then returned tothe animal facility. Observation and condition-ing rooms may also be required for observa-tion, conducting detailed health examinationsand conditioning newly-acquired animals,especially random source animals (e.g., ran-dom source dogs, cats, rabbits and wild animals).
Guideline 6:
The size of an animal holding room shouldbe determined by the species, the numberof animals to be housed, the type of hous-ing, the proposed animal use and the services needed. The room should holdthe animals comfortably in a suitable envi-ronment with sufficient space to servicethe animals.
The size of an animal holding room should bedetermined according to the species to bemaintained and the number of pens, cages orcage racks required, while allowing for ade-
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quate ventilation and servicing (Appendix Clists the minimum cage sizes and recom-mended environmental conditions requiredfor some laboratory animals). The size andlayout of individual animal holding roomsmay be derived by applying the example ofpreliminary size estimation given in Appen-dix D to a detailed space description (seeAppendix B). Examples of different animalholding room layouts are illustrated in Dia-grams 1 to 4. Additional space may be re-quired to conduct non-invasive procedures.Where animals are held in ventilated racks,space may be required to install an appropri-ate hood to permit more invasive proceduresto be performed in the room.
Ventilated cage racks that supply ventilationindividually to each cage on a rack are beingused more frequently to house rodents, espe-cially mice. These units should be placed in relatively large rooms due to the amount of space required to service them. Mobilechange hoods are commonly used, thereforesufficient space must be available between
racks to accommodate the hood. In addition,there is often a stationary cabinet locatedwithin the room for the manipulation of mice(see Diagram 4).
Animal rooms should be designed for ease ofsanitation and have a minimum of built-inequipment. In many cases, a single small sinkfor handwashing located near the door willsuffice (see Appendix B), and may not be nec-essary if one is available in an adjoining ante-room. The use of mobile stainless steel sinks isalso an option. In addition, space is requiredto accommodate room-specific sanitationequipment.
3.2 Procedure rooms
Guideline 7:
Invasive procedures that may cause dis-tress to other animals should be con-ducted in a procedure room rather than inan animal holding room.
All procedures that might cause distress to ananimal should be conducted outside the ani-mal holding room since a distressed animalmay convey alarm to conspecifics and induceunnecessary stress in other animals in theroom. This may include relatively minor pro-cedures involving transient restraint, such asinjection or collection of small blood samples,especially where wild animals are involved,and includes all invasive procedures. Minorprocedures, such as the injection of laboratoryrodents, may be conducted in designatedspaces within the animal holding room.Where rodents are housed in ventilated cageracks, procedures may be conducted within aprocedure hood in the same room.
Guideline 8:
Well-appointed procedure rooms shouldbe available within the animal facility toreduce the need to transport animals tolaboratories located outside the facility.
Use of procedure rooms within animal faci-lities will reduce the introduction of non-Diagram 1: Conventional rodent room
experimental variablesand also reduce thespread of potential aller-gens outside the facility(see Section 4.3.1 Labora-tory animal allergy andanimals in laboratory set-tings). Flexibility of proce-dure rooms is importantto provide for the evolv-ing research needs of cur-rent and future users.
Anterooms can provideuseful procedure space.Anterooms to animal hold-ing rooms are referred to in different contexts inthese guidelines. One of a number of uses is as aprocedure room, dedicat-ed to one (see Diagram 4)or more (see Diagram 5)animal holding rooms.The anteroom greatly re-duces or eliminates theneed to transport animalsalong common corridorsto a multiple use proce-dure room. However, theuse of shared multiple useprocedure rooms by anumber of different re-search groups increasesthe risk of introducingadditional variables.
Guideline 9:
A separate procedure room should beused when specialized equipment isrequired and/or procedures are being con-ducted that require minimal distraction.
Where procedures are more involved, andparticularly if they are dependent on an arrayof equipment such as physiological monitors,imaging equipment and computers, a fullprocedure room is required. A procedureroom is also often essential for many tests,such as behavior and drug tests, that are sen-
sitive to external distractions. These require-ments should be carefully enumerated duringthe planning stages, and procedure roomsshould be located strategically with respect tothe proposed animal holding rooms. Someprocedure rooms may be dedicated to oneparticular program for a period of time. Insome circumstances, there may be 'clean' pro-cedure rooms for disease-free animals and'dirty' procedure rooms for conventional ani-mals (animals whose background microflorais unknown). In all cases, the rooms must bedesigned to facilitate frequent sanitation
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Diagram 2: Conventional dog pen room
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because of multiple use. It is very importantto emphasize flexibility and adaptability inthe design of procedure rooms since their usewill inevitably fluctuate.
Environmental controls for procedure roomsshould be the same as for animal holdingrooms since animals may be held there forlong periods during the day. Excellent light-ing and substantial electrical outlets are essen-tial (see Section C.8. Electrical).
The type and quantity of cabinetry in proce-dure rooms depends upon the proposed use.
Where the type of work is fairly similar overthe years (e.g., toxicology testing), specificcabinetry needs can be accommodated on apermanent basis. In a multi-faceted and vari-able research climate (e.g., a large university),the needs change. Hence, permanent cup-boards and drawers may become a problem.Material tends to accumulate in them andthey are extremely difficult to clean anddecontaminate. Consideration should begiven to mobile tables, cupboards, shelves,etc. that can be used to finish procedurerooms appropriate to intermittent specificneeds and that are readily sanitized.
Diagram 4: Rodent room with double-sided ventilated racks, entrance anteroomand integral procedure room
Diagram 3: Rodent holding room with single-sided ventilated racks
3.3 Surgery
Guideline 10:
Surgery must be performed under aseptic
conditions using currently acceptable vet-
erinary standards.
Facilities for experimental animal surgery area frequently required component of labora-tory animal facilities. The principal compo-nents of a well-appointed animal surgery are:
• surgeon preparation and scrub;
• animal preparation and premedication;
• surgical operation, including anesthesia;
• post-operative recovery;
• intensive care;
• surgical supply storage;
• equipment storage and servicing;
• instrument cleaning and storage; and
• surgical pack preparation, sterilizationand holding.
Planning the number of rooms and overallspace requirements to accommodate thesefunctions will vary from project to project (seeDiagram 6). The degree of sophisticationrequired should be determined through con-sultation with the user groups, taking intoconsideration the species to be used and pro-cedures to be performed. Some of the auxil-iary functions can be combined within onespace, depending upon the anticipated work-load for the surgical suite. Where there ismore than one operating room in the suiteand/or higher use frequency, multifunctionalancillary rooms may be less useful.
It is highly recommended that surgical facili-ties be incorporated into the laboratory ani-mal facility and that researchers be discour-aged from transporting animals back to theirown laboratories. This will facilitate monitor-ing and post-surgical care of the animals bythe animal facility staff and will ensure ade-quate standards of sanitation.
Although the use of an appropriate operatingtheatre for all animal surgery is recom-mended, some more minor surgical proce-dures in small rodents may take place in aspecifically-designated area of an investiga-tor's laboratory suite. It must be reiteratedthat each functional component of a surgicalsuite must be considered in assigning thespace and appointing it appropriately (CCAC,1993, Chapter IX). In addition, if surgery is to be performed in a research laboratory, it isrecommended that it be conducted under aconstant stream of sterile air such as that sup-plied by a type II biosafety cabinet or a port-able laminar flow unit.
Other considerations include the need forlaundry facilities, centralized service consolesfor gases and power, emergency power, andspecialized scrub sinks. If gases are to be
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Diagram 5: Procedure anterooms
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piped in, it is preferablethat space be allocatednear the loading docksfor holding gas cylin-ders (including spares),rather than in the surgi-cal suite. Irrespective of location, gas cylin-ders must be carefullysecured.
It is recommended thatinternal windows beincorporated into surgi-cal suites to increase thevisibility from one partof the suite to another.It has been found usefulin experimental surgerysuites to maximize visu-al communication fromarea to area. Limitations on the number of cir-culating personnel often require people tooversee multiple tasks (e.g., non-sterile circu-lation and post-operative monitoring). Theuse of internal windows also reduces close-ness, increases safety and improves the per-ception of space.
3.4 Clean and dirty loadingdocks
Guideline 11:
The receipt and disposal of clean materials(e.g., virus antibody-free animals, feed andbedding) and dirty materials (e.g., animalsfrom random sources and soiled bedding)should be segregated. The loading dock(s)must be designed to restrict the entry ofvermin into the animal facility.
The functions of the clean and dirty loadingdocks may appear similar in that they bothfacilitate truck access for delivery and dis-patch; however, the materials handled at eachare quite different and incompatible. Theclean dock should receive clean animals, foodand bedding deliveries, and other clean sup-plies. The dirty dock should be used for thereceipt of random source animals and wild
species, elimination of waste materials, andmovement of other items of questionable san-itary status. Furthermore, the sources andmovement of these materials within the facil-ity is quite different, and it is often desirableto have the clean and dirty docks physicallyseparate. Where this is not feasible and onlyone dock is available, there should be 'clean'and 'dirty' standard operating procedures(SOPs) with thorough decontamination of thearea following 'dirty' activities. In Canadawhere feasible, it is advisable to have the ani-mal facility docks enclosed and heated.
3.5 Animal reception area(s)
Guideline 12:
There should be a separately ventilatedarea where animals can be uncrated,examined and held, if required, underappropriate environmental conditionsbefore being introduced to an animal hold-ing room.
Ideally, there should be two animal receptionareas, one for clean animals and one for dirtyanimals. The reception areas should providesufficient space for the uncrating and initialexamination of animals, as well as for holding
Diagram 6: Key components of a surgical suite
the animals under appropriate environmentalconditions until they are relocated to a hold-ing room or a conditioning area.
3.6 Feed and bedding storage
Guideline 13:
Animal feed and bedding must be stored ina vermin-proof room, and should not bestored directly on the floor.
Animal feed should be stored in a vermin-proof room that is easy to sanitize, in order toprevent contamination. Laboratory animalfeed is produced free of contamination offood additives and is hygienically packagedimmediately following pasteurization by theheat of the extrusion process. Laboratory feedmay be stored at room temperature and a rel-ative humidity of 50%, provided it is used inless than six months. Feed of this qualityshould not be stored together with foodstuffsfrom standard agricultural feed mills thatmay not have been consistently maintained invermin-free facilities. All open bags of feedmust be stored in sealed containers. Cleanbedding may be stored in the same room asanimal feed.
Feed and bedding should not be storeddirectly on the floor, but rather on plastic ormetal pallets or shelves. It is also recom-mended that the pallets or shelves be locatedaway from the walls, where possible, to facili-tate cleaning and monitoring for vermin.
3.7 Waste storage
Guideline 14:
The waste storage area must be largeenough to accommodate all waste accu-mulated between disposals.
Guideline 15:
The ventilation system for the waste stor-age area must be designed so that exhaustfrom this area cannot enter any part of thebuilding or adjoining buildings.
The waste storage area should provide ade-quate storage for animal excrement, soiledbedding and waste feed, and should be de-signed to facilitate its sanitation. The ventila-tion for this area should be segregated fromthe rest of the building or at least designed sothat there is no possibility of air leaking fromthis area into other parts of the building orother buildings. If the waste is not removedon a daily basis, then consideration should begiven to cooling the waste storage room.
Guideline 16:
Biohazardous waste, hazardous materialsand waste containing radionuclides mustbe stored separately in appropriatelyappointed areas and disposed of accord-ing to all federal, provincial and municipalrequirements.
The Canadian Council of Ministers of theEnvironment (CCME) has released a set ofrecommendations and guidelines for the dis-posal of hazardous wastes. Specific wastes areaddressed by the appropriate authority: theCanadian Nuclear Safety Commission (ra-dioactive wastes), Health Canada and theCanadian Food Inspection Agency (biohaz-ardous waste), and Environment Canada(chemical wastes). However, all guidelinesand recommendations can be superseded bythe local municipality which has ultimate reg-ulatory authority. The exception to this is thetransportation of hazardous wastes, regulatedby the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regu-lations (1992).
3.8 Waste elimination
Guideline 17:
All waste products must be eliminated in asafe manner. If this cannot be accom-plished through existing local services,then appropriate space and equipmentmust be incorporated into the plans toensure the safe elimination of waste.
The disposal of soiled animal bedding and theremains of dead animals can be handled in a
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number of ways, depending on local codes,availability of acceptable waste eliminationequipment, and the presence or absence ofbiohazardous agents and toxic substances inthe discarded material.
In certain jurisdictions, it is permissible tosend non-toxic and biosafe soiled laboratoryanimal bedding to appropriately-designatedlandfill sites. However, practices whichrequire access to general public waste dispos-al systems may pose potential risks. There-fore, it is becoming increasingly necessary toconsider equipment capable of reducing andrendering harmless the waste materials gen-erated in the animal facility.
The requirement for waste elimination equip-ment to be a part of a new facility or for wastematerial to be transported to a shared publicwaste elimination facility should be clearlyidentified in the planning process. The deci-sion will influence loading dock design, inaddition to appropriate functional adjacenciesand access to waste elimination equipment.
There are two principal methods of maximallyeffective and safe elimination systems: inciner-ation, and alkaline hydrolysis or digestion.
3.8.1 Incineration
The disposal of soiled animal bedding andcarcasses by combustion can be accomplishedby high-temperature incineration. This can beachieved using a controlled air incinerator.The unit usually consists of two separateburning chambers. The waste material isloaded into the primary chamber either man-ually or by an automatic feeder. Here, the ini-tial combustion takes place. The secondarychamber, usually mounted above the primarychamber, receives volatile substances andgases from the initial combustion process andpyrolytically converts them into simple,harmless chemical components.
The secondary chamber holds the exhaustmaterial from the primary chamber longenough to expose it to a sufficiently high tem-perature to reduce everything to carbon diox-
ide, water vapor and heat energy beforerelease into the atmosphere.
For animal carcasses, the secondary chamberretention time can range from 1.25 to 2.0 sec-onds. Although a temperature of 927°C(1700°F) is effective for tissues that are notchemically contaminated, a temperature of1010°C to 1099°C (1850°F to 2000°F) is requiredto eliminate all potential toxic substances.
Incineration is an effective, albeit expensive,method of waste elimination. It uses largeamounts of energy produced by the combus-tion of fossil fuels and contributes substantialquantities of carbon dioxide to the atmos-phere. Therefore, it is extremely difficult toobtain permits for new incinerators in manyjurisdictions. The permit is the first piece ofinformation to be sought prior to pursuingthis method of waste elimination.
3.8.2 Alkaline hydrolysis or digestion
Alkaline digestion is a relatively new processfor laboratory animal disposal and consulta-tion with established users prior to purchaseand installation of a unit is recommended. Inaddition, the compatibility of the effluent withlocal codes should be investigated. Alkalinedigestion converts animal tissues into a sterile,neutrally reactive, aqueous solution which canbe disposed of in a sanitary sewer. There aresome issues related to the disposal of the efflu-ent; for example, pH is generally 11-12, theeffluent can solidify in the waste piping, andbiochemical oxygen demand levels can begreater than tolerable levels.
The process consists of placing the animal car-casses and tissues in the vessel. The machineautomatically weighs the material and addsthe appropriate quantity of alkali. Water isadded to cover the material and the pressurevessel is then sealed. Digestion takes approx-imately 3 hours at 149°C (300°F). Large unitshave cycle times of up to 6 hours. Laboratory-sized tissue digesters are available with up to5 kg (11 lb) capacity. These are used for labo-ratory rodent and rabbit carcasses. Thesmaller units may have application in
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Biosafety Level 3 units.The laboratory-sizedunits operate at muchlower temperatures (ap-proximately 98°C) andthe complete operatingcycle may take up to 18hours.
Importantly, the sterili-zation process also in-cludes the destructionof prions, the agents oftransmissible spongi-form encephalopathies(CJD, vCJD, BSE, Scra-pie and CWD).
3.9 Cage and equipment washingand sterilization
Guideline 18:
Clean and dirty activities in the cagewasharea must be segregated.
Guideline 19:
The cagewash area must have adequateventilation to maintain a safe environmentconducive to human physical activity and to prevent the spread of vapor andcontaminants.
Guideline 20:
The dirty cage storage area(s) should belarge enough to accommodate all dirtycages awaiting processing, unless thereare alternative designated dirty stagingareas with appropriate ventilation.
Diagram 7 illustrates the key componentsneeded in a cagewash area. The dirty side ofthe cagewash area should be large enough toaccommodate the accumulation of dirtyequipment throughout the working day. Thesize is based on the rate at which dirty equip-ment can be processed through the cage
washing machine and the daily generation ofdirty equipment. Overflow of unprotecteddirty equipment in general access corridors oranimal holding rooms is unacceptable. Inlarge facilities or where the dirty cagewasharea is limited, it may be necessary to designseparate dirty staging areas with independentventilation.
Space is also required for the manual or auto-mated removal of soiled bedding. Sinks forhand washing and large deep sinks for pre-washing and/or washing specialized equip-ment are extremely useful in this area. If hose-down prewashing of either cages or racks isrequired (e.g., for large primate and dogcages), then a walled-off bay with hot andcold water and a disinfectant dispensershould be incorporated. Such bays need effi-cient exhaust air venting.
Robotic equipment can be used for dumpingand preparing cages for cleaning. It reducesthe workload, minimizes personnel exposureto allergens, potential biohazards, noise andheat, and can limit repetitive motion injuries.In most cases, the size of the dirty side of thecagewash area needs to be increased signifi-cantly to accommodate a robotic unit.
The aerosols generated in the sanitation ofdirty cages and equipment (e.g., water bot-
Diagram 7: Key components of a cagewash area
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tles) should be effectively contained. Ventedhoods and filtered bedding disposal unitsshould be used and need to be accommodatedin the dirty area. Vacuum systems for soiledbedding removal are also available.
Dirty cages awaiting attention give off foulodors and gaseous ammonia, which is espe-cially heightened at the time of soiled beddingremoval. Therefore, ventilation in the cage-wash area, particularly on the dirty side, iscritical.
Guideline 21:
The differential pressure on the dirty sideof the cagewash area must be stronglynegative to all surrounding areas.
The washing machines generate a great dealof heat, and large amounts of steam arereleased when the doors are opened, espe-cially on the clean side. Stainless steel exhaustvents adjacent to each washing machine doorare strongly recommended. Steam must beeffectively exhausted for the comfort andsafety of personnel, to prevent the spread ofcontaminants, and to prevent damage to thesurfaces in the washing area.
The washing machinery generates consider-able noise. This is compounded by the disas-sembly and assembly of plastic and metalcages and other equipment in the area. Inmost busy cagewash areas, the sound levelexceeds the decibel level acceptable forhuman safety, and personnel should wearapproved protective auditory devices. Addi-tionally, noise may be a problem if the cage-wash is located in close proximity to animalholding areas. It is recommended that spe-cific attention be paid to the sound attenua-tion and isolation of the washing machinery.The density of the peripheral walls of this areaoften needs to be greater than the normalsound attenuation specifications in the rest ofthe facility (e.g., sand-filled concrete masonryunits, poured concrete, etc.). The use of cavitywalls may also provide sound attenuation.There should be good doors both between thedirty side of the washing area and the corridor,
and between the clean side of the washingarea and the corridor, for sound attenuationand to prevent the spread of contaminants.
The incorporation of an autoclave into thecagewash area is dependent on the type andneeds of the facility and the SOPs that will beput in place. For a single or limited purposefacility, such as a genetically modified animalbarrier facility, it may make sense to incorpo-rate an autoclave into the cagewash area forsterilization purposes. However, for largermultipurpose facilities, a pass-through auto-clave is best incorporated through the perime-ter wall of a specific zone that will require itsuse, such as between the clean cage storageand a viral antibody-free (VAF) mouse unit.
Biosafety guidelines may require autoclavesterilization of the cages before cage washing.Depending on the facility, cage set-up andspecified pathogen, the cages may have to beautoclaved prior to dumping the bedding. Inmost cases, it is preferable to locate the auto-clave at the containment barrier.
Wherever possible, and certainly in all facili-ties in excess of 465 m2 (5000 sq. ft.), it is rec-ommended that pass-through cage washersbe used. Therefore, following the completionof the cleaning cycle, the cleaned equipmentis removed from the machine on the cleanside of the cage or equipment washing area.
The clean side of the cage washer generallydoes not have to be as large as the dirty sidesince there is less activity in this area and theclean cages and equipment should be movedto clean cage storage or back to the animalholding rooms for immediate use. It is com-mon practice to refill the cages with clean bed-ding in the clean area, and hence, there shouldbe room for holding bedding and a beddingdispenser where required (note: ventilatedautomatic bedding dispensers reduce theexposure of personnel to airborne dust).
In small facilities, it may not be feasible tohave separate clean and dirty areas, andhence, it is essential that cages be cleaned insmall batches and that the area surroundingthe cage washer be thoroughly sanitizedbefore the clean cages are removed from thecage washer.
Guideline 22:
Mechanical cage washers must be of asize appropriate for their potential use andmust effectively sanitize the portablecages. The true efficacy of the cagewashequipment must be checked on a regularbasis through the use of temperature andmicrobiological monitoring.
Guideline 23:
Mechanical washers and/or designatedareas should be used for pressurizedwashing of large equipment such as racksand large cages.
Sanitation and decontamination of cages,racks, water bottles and other washable andheat resistant items, such as carts and mobilestainless steel equipment, is best achievedusing mechanical washing machines andautoclaves designed and programmed for thispurpose. In addition to the consistency ofeffective operation and monitoring of theseunits, the cage washers provide a safe andeffective means of applying detergents, disin-fectants and descalers appropriate to theneed. Cage washers should supply rinsewater at a minimum of 83°C for at least threeminutes.
3.10 Clean cage and equipmentstorage
Guideline 24:
Adequate areas for clean equipment stor-age must be available to accommodateclean equipment not in use. Clean equip-ment must not be stored in corridors oranimal holding rooms.
Clean caging and equipment should movefrom the clean side of the cagewash area to anadjacent short-term holding area, usuallyreferred to as clean cage storage or staging.Adequate clean equipment storage must beavailable to accommodate all clean equip-ment in active use. It is not acceptable to store
this equipment in corridors or animal holdingrooms. Storage of equipment in active use issometimes referred to as 'live storage'.Approximately 15 to 20% of net utilizablespace of the animal facility should be allo-cated for live storage. The amount of requiredstorage space is usually higher when there area variety of species or groups of animals ofdifferent microbial status being held. Carefulconsideration should be given to the type ofcages and equipment to be washed, as well asto the potential storage time, in order to esti-mate the actual storage requirements.
The long-term storage of equipment, or 'deadstorage', is best achieved in designated stor-age areas outside the animal facility. Thisarrangement is much more cost-effective.
3.11 Sterilization
It is often necessary to sterilize cages, waterbottles, bedding, feed and other equipment tobe used in an animal facility or within specificzones. This is usually accomplished by phys-ical and/or chemical means, such as autoclav-ing and fumigation.
Guideline 25:
Sterilization method(s) that are safe andeffective for the required need should beselected.
Guideline 26:
Appropriate sterilization equipment shouldbe installed in strategic locations where itwill be the most effective, such as withinthe area in which it will be used or at thetransition between zones of the animalfacility.
3.11.1 Physical sterilization
Steam sterilization under pressure (i.e. auto-claving) is the principal means of sterilizationfor cages, water bottles, bedding and equip-ment in controlled research environments. Infacilities where there is a requirement to pro-
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vide sterilized equipment and food centrally,an autoclave can be located in the clean areaof the cagewash or between the dirty andclean sides of the washing area. In some cases,a pass-through autoclave can be placedbetween the clean side of the cagewash andthe clean equipment storage or staging area.Thus, bedding can be automatically dis-pensed in the clean side of the cagewash andthen the cages containing bedding can beautoclaved through to the clean cage storagearea.
Successful adaptation of dry heat sterilizationchambers has recently been reported and maybe considered a viable alternative in thefuture.
Ionizing radiation is not commonly used forsterilization purposes in animal facilities. It isused for the commercial sterilization ofrodent diet manufactured for use in exclusionbarrier units and wherever biosecurity is anissue. Its use has significantly reduced theamount of diet sterilized by autoclaving since the sterile food is now readily availablecommercially.
Ultraviolet light can be used to sterilize sur-faces. Shaded areas are not sterilized and itsuse is therefore limited. However, it can beused to assist in reducing the microbial countin water treatment systems. Hazards includeaccidental exposure and possible ozone pro-duction in excess of allowable amounts. Thecosts of quality assurance and maintenance,as well as hazardous waste disposal, are allserious issues. Its application should bereviewed carefully with this in mind.
3.11.2 Chemical sterilization
Sterilization produced by exposing items ofequipment and entire rooms to gaseousmicrobiocidal chemicals has had limited usein animal facilities. If this form of sterilizationis to be used, it is important to ascertain thatthe materials selected for construction of theanimal facility are compatible with the pro-posed chemical sterilant(s) and that the steril-ization equipment or area in which it will beused can be maintained under negative pres-sure and effectively exhausted.
Pass-through chambers using microbiocidalchemical gases and vapors at exclusion andinclusion barrier interfaces are desirable forthe sterilization/decontamination of largeritems of equipment, particularly those thatcannot be moist or dry-heat sterilized. Theiruse has been limited by the choice of effectivechemical agents available.
Hydrogen peroxide vapor has proven to be aneffective and safe chemical sterilant in animalfacility scenarios. The vapor-generation appa-ratus is portable and, together with specificdelivery systems, has a wide range of applica-tions. Since the residue is oxygen and wateronly, it is non-toxic and ideal for use withexperimental animals in controlled researchenvironments. There are rack cage washersthat can be used as the sterilization chamberin conjunction with the hydrogen peroxidesterilant units.
Ethylene oxide has been used in appropriatechambers and specific autoclave cycles, butnot extensively. Safety concerns and chemicalreactivity with certain materials (e.g., corn cobbased products) has been a limiting factor.Formaldehyde gas and paraformaldehydehave been used successfully for many years asroom sterilants, and they are also effective forsterilization of equipment within enclosedspaces. The gas is toxic, a serious irritant, andtime consuming and tedious to use and venteffectively. This has limited its use in labora-tory animal facilities, although it remains ofvalue in decontamination of biocontainmentrooms or suites and domestic farm animalbarns following depopulation and prior torestocking. Chlorine dioxide gas has beendemonstrated to be an effective sterilant inlaboratory animal facilities but its use remainslimited.
3.12 Janitorial closets
Guideline 27:
Cleaning supplies and equipment mustnot be stored in corridors.
Janitorial services from institutional buildingservice units should not be used in animal
facilities for biosecurity and biosafety reasons.Separate cleaning supplies and equipment arerequired in different zones of the facility, andit is recommended that closets for the storageof janitorial materials and equipment belocated in each distinct zone or activity area.
Each animal holding room must have its owndedicated cleaning equipment. Cleaningequipment must not be transferred from oneroom to another when the rooms are in activeuse.
3.13 Necropsy
The incorporation of a necropsy area, even insmall facilities, is strongly recommendedunless alternative necropsy services are read-ily available. A complete laboratory animalcare and use program should monitor causesof death carefully as part of the health sur-veillance system. In addition, the detailedpost-mortem examination of experimentalanimals is often required for scientific pur-poses. In facilities in which genetically modi-fied animals are maintained, detailed necro-psy is a means to discover valuable animalmodels of disease. Adequate necropsy facili-ties are therefore becoming increasinglyimportant.
Guideline 28:
Necropsy facilities should be designed toprotect the users and eliminate the poten-tial spread of agents of laboratory animaldisease.
The recommended components of a necropsysuite are listed below and shown in Diagram 8:
• the refrigerated cabinet or chamber;
• the anteroom; and
• the necropsy room.
It is important that the purpose and use of thenecropsy area be clearly defined. If the solepurpose of the necropsy is to collect tissuesfrom disease-free animals shortly after death,then a dedicated necropsy area may not berequired. Under these conditions, it is oftensatisfactory to collect the tissues in the surgi-
cal suite, or for small animals, in a biosafetycabinet. However, if the necropsy area is to beused to collect tissue from animals of un-known health status or to diagnose the causeof death from unknown causes, especially inlarger animals, then it is strongly recom-mended that a proper necropsy suite be incor-porated into the animal facility.
The necropsy suite has the potential to be themost dangerous area of an animal facility dueto possible exposure to agents of disease.Therefore, it is strongly recommended thatthe suite incorporate an anteroom. Anteroomsoffer an effective additional barrier to thefacility as a whole by facilitating the stageduse of protective clothing and by acting as anair lock, which helps maintain negative airpressure in the necropsy room itself relative tothe adjacent areas. In addition, other safetyequipment, such as surgery lamps, downdrafttables, washing facilities, emergency eye-wash, emergency shower, etc., should be con-sidered when designing an effective and safenecropsy room.
The refrigerated chamber for storage of deadanimals can be configured as a pass-throughunit. This permits personnel to place animalsinto the cooler that is accessed from a generalpurpose corridor, without the need to take
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Diagram 8: Key components of anecropsy suite
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elaborate precautions for biosecurity. Thepass-through cooler acts like an air lock in thisarrangement. The personnel within thenecropsy suite can access the dead subjectsand appended documentation without leav-ing the suite. This design concept is notrestricted to facilities with larger workloadssince appropriate pass-through units as smallas domestic refrigerators are commerciallyavailable. Freezer units are also useful, espe-cially when carcasses cannot be incineratedshortly after they are necropsied.
Ventilation must be effective to minimizeaerosol concentrations and odors. The necro-psy room must be at a negative air pressurerelative to all surrounding areas. The airexhaust system should be configured to movepolluted air away from the persons perform-ing necropsies and safely expel it from thebuilding. This is sometimes achieved usingdowndraft tables or exhaust vents at the backof the work surfaces. Occasionally, flexibleexhaust snorkels are used, similar to thoseused by welders. For small animals such aslaboratory rodents, a biosafety cabinet can beused.
Lighting is very important in the necropsyroom. In addition to more intensive adjustablespot or flood lighting, the ambient light levelsalso need to be bright.
The design of the necropsy suite should facil-itate thorough cleaning and disinfection(including fumigation if required).
The necropsy suite, if used for large animals,is subject to frequent wash downs, and largequantities of water are used on a routinebasis. Floor drains are essential with basketsto capture materials that should be collectedfor disposal (by incineration) and not permit-ted to enter the sewer system. Because it is awet area, all electrical outlets should beground fault interrupted.
3.14 Personnel office and reception area
Guideline 29:
Access to the laboratory animal facilityshould be controlled and regulated.
It is preferable that all personnel enter orleave the facility via the reception area. Thiscan facilitate visual observation of individu-als. The reception area also provides a pointfor personnel communication and the pick-upand drop-off of innocula and samples. Wherethis is not practical, other forms of monitoringshould be used at remote entries, such asrestricted card access and/or cameras inter-faced with intercoms.
Offices are required for administrative, seniortechnical and veterinary staff, and mayinclude space for continuing education mate-rials. A centralized office bank facilitatesongoing communication between the variousgroups responsible for the effective operationof the animal facility. The centralized officebank may be located outside the facility or atthe interface to the animal facility entrance.This may not remove the need for desk spaceand/or computer space within the facility orspecific zones within the facility. Space for thefiling and consultation of animal use proto-cols, SOPs, institutional policies on animalcare and use, and animal records must be pro-vided within the facility.
Every effort should be made to provide exteriorwindows in spaces used solely for human occu-pancy, keeping in mind security requirements.
3.15 Personnel changing rooms
Guideline 30:
Personnel areas should be designed andstrategically located to facilitate andencourage personal hygiene.
Personal hygiene is extremely important tothe proper maintenance of a laboratory ani-mal care and use program. Changing intofacility clothing and footwear, and wheredeemed necessary, the use of showers and airshowers by investigators and animal carestaff, reduces the risk of the mechanical intro-duction of etiologic agents of diseases. Addi-tionally, showering and changing at the endof the day reduces the risk of taking azoonotic infection home.
In all cases, special attention to the spatialdesign and furnishings in changing facilitiesis important to encourage good practice.Some important considerations include: lock-ers that are of an appropriate size and wellsecured; places to sit while changing foot-wear; showers that are warm and comfortablewith shelf space for soaps, antiseptic agents,shampoos, etc.; the option of adequate pri-vacy for changing; and mirrors and shelvesfor grooming, particularly prior to leaving forthe day. Adequate space to put out clean facil-ity clothing and towels should also be in-cluded in the design criteria.
3.16 Laundry facilities
The use of in-house laundry facilities willfacilitate the frequent laundering required,particularly where commercial laundries donot provide a cost-effective option. Most fa-cilities supply clothing for work within thefacility and may require frequent changes bet-ween zones within a facility.
3.17 Toilets
Guideline 31:
Each toilet should be enclosed in a sepa-rate room with the relative air pressurenegative to surrounding areas.
Toilets should be strategically positioned inthe different zones of the animal facility, espe-cially where a change of clothes is requiredwhen moving from one zone to another.However, in some cases it may not be accept-able to have a toilet in a biocontainment area(for current biocontainment guidelines, seehttp://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/sci/lab/convet/convete.shtml). Each toilet shouldbe housed in an enclosed room with continu-ous air exhaust. The room should be understrong negative pressure and the make-up airshould be drawn from an adjacent changeroom or corridor. Toilet stalls that are parti-tioned off a larger room for group use are notacceptable within the confines of an animalfacility.
Guideline 32:
Aerosols associated with toilet flushingshould be minimized by selection ofappropriate equipment and proper place-ment of exhaust fans.
Standard toilets are effective aerosol produc-ers when flushed, and this, coupled with thetendency to position the exhaust air register inthe ceiling, is inadvertently destined to dis-perse concentrated fecal aerosols throughoutthe space. Personnel and clean facility cloth-ing can become significantly contaminated ifexposed to the generated aerosol. Toilets areavailable with built-in exhaust at the bowllevel to reduce the generation of roomaerosols.
3.18 Staff break and meetingroom(s)
A staff break room should be provided withadequate space for comfortable seating attables. In addition, a place for a refrigerator,dishwasher, microwave, and sink, an area forpreparing beverages, and access to chilledwater should be considered for the breakroom.
Windows to the outside environment aredesirable if the location makes this feasible.Natural light can be directed into enclosedspaces via natural light tubes.
This room may also be useful for staff meet-ings and as an information centre for staff(which can include books, journals, newslet-ters, catalogues, notices, etc.).
3.19 Mechanical and electricalspace and distribution of services
The mechanical services for an animal facilityare extensive and complex because of theneed for strict control of environmentalparameters and the importance of adequateredundancy. The mechanical space requiredfor a state-of-the-art animal facility is compar-atively large, relative to the overall facility, if
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compared to a building designed solely forhuman occupancy.
Guideline 33:
Adequate space must be available toaccommodate the mechanical and electri-cal services and to allow servicing of thisequipment.
The central electrical panels and monitoringand communication equipment require dedi-cated spaces.
Distribution of supply and exhaust air ductwork is complex and spatially demanding. Inaddition, temperature control in the individ-ual animal holding spaces is most frequentlyachieved by reheat coils on the supply airside. Plumbing distribution is extensive andmay include piped gases from a central sup-ply and main line sources. With electrical andelectronic communication lines, the distribu-tion space is further challenged.
Guideline 34:
Where possible, mechanical andelectrical equipment should belocated so that they are accessiblefrom outside animal holding roomsand other critical areas such as sur-gical and necropsy suites.
Institutional physical plant maintenancepersonnel should always be representedon the user group team during planningand design to ensure that their requiredactivities are represented and can occurunimpeded with minimum interferenceto the scientific and animal care occu-pants of the facility.
Possible locations for the mechanicalservices are illustrated in Diagram 9.Ideally, the mechanical services arelocated such that maintenance of theequipment can be achieved withouthaving to enter the animal facility itself,such as in an interstitial or epistitialspace. However, this may not be feasi-ble due to the extra size of building
required or limited space within an existingbuilding proposed for renovation. In thesecases, it is recommended that the facility bedesigned so that mechanical services can bemaintained from the main corridors withoutthe requirement to enter animal holdingrooms, procedure rooms and restricted zones.
3.20 Corridors
Guideline 35:
Corridors must be wide enough and havesufficient protection to permit the largestitems of equipment, such as cage racks, tobe moved safely without causing damageto the facility or the equipment.
Corridors or hallways should be configuredto facilitate the movement of personnel andequipment, such as cage racks. The corridors
Diagram 9: Possible locations for mechanicalservices
also need to be cleaned and disinfected at rel-atively frequent intervals to compensate forthe effects of the frequency and source of thetraffic.
In particular:
• Corridors should be a minimum of twometres wide (and preferably 2.2 metres inorder to give two full metres clearanceafter bumper rails have been added).
• Walls of corridors should be protectedwith a bumper or rail that is impact resist-ant and facilitates thorough cleaning anddisinfection. Bumper rails should curvearound corners. Bullnosed corners facili-tate this feature.
• Curbs may also be used to prevent equip-ment from damaging wall surfaces.
• Where bottlenecks for equipment mayoccur, corridors should be increased inwidth to create marshalling or stagingareas that prevent obstruction to trafficduring the busy working days.
The flow of traffic in the animal facility is dis-cussed under Section 5. Traffic Flow Patterns.Movement of air along corridors should flowfrom the cleanest to the dirtiest areas of thefacility.
3.21 Barriers
Guideline 36:
Barriers should be strategically locatedthroughout the laboratory animal facility tominimize the potential for cross-contami-nation and to segregate incompatibleactivities.
Guideline 37:
Current biosafety guidelines must be con-sulted in all cases where animals areinfected with known human or animalpathogens.
Barriers in the context of animal facilitydesign consist of a combination of physical
systems and performance criteria thattogether minimize the transfer of etiologicagents of animal or human disease from oneside of the barrier to the other. Diagram 10illustrates some of the potential means fortransfer of etiological agents across barriers.The barriers should be designed to reduce thepotential of transfer by these means to theextent dictated by the risk and researchrequirements.
Barriers form an integral part of all animalfacilities, and therefore, the basic concepts aredescribed here. However, this discussion is notan alternative to biosafety guidelines describ-ing the facilities and procedures to be usedwhen working with human and/or animalpathogens (i.e. HC and AAFC; see Appendix A).
Barriers may be divided into two categories,namely inclusion and exclusion barriers.
Inclusion barriers are set up to prevent theescape of agents of disease from the animalsin the unit to the outside (biosafety). Inclu-sion barriers may be established to quarantineor isolate animals of unknown health status orto contain animals intentionally infected withhuman or animal pathogens (biocontain-ment). They may also be used to manage ananimal or group of animals in which there isan outbreak or potential for an outbreak ofinfectious disease that is not a threat to peopleor biosafety. This comes under the activity ofanimal isolation and/or quarantine and is rel-evant to the biosecurity of animals of the samespecies and others known to be susceptible tothe disease.
Exclusion barriers are established to preventthe entry of animal infections and infestationsfrom outside sources (biosecurity). Exclusionbarriers are often established to protect thehealth status of laboratory animals such asvirus antibody-free rodents, immunocompro-mised animals and valuable genetically mod-ified animals.
It is important to note that an exclusion bar-rier keeps things out, but does not preventinfectious material from escaping into theenvironment. The inclusion barrier is design-ed to contain infections, but it will do little to
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prevent an infectious disease from outsidecrossing inside the barrier. As a result, it issometimes necessary to combine features ofan exclusion and inclusion barrier. Thisrequires a combination of physical and opera-tional barriers. For example, housing immu-nocompromised animals challenged with apathogenic organism would require the use ofan inclusion/exclusion barrier.
A barrier can be created at the cage, rack,room, suite or facility level, and combinationsof these are used frequently.
Guideline 38:
If an anteroom is to be used as a compo-nent of a barrier system, then it must belarge enough to accommodate the largestmaterials that will pass through it such thatonly one door need be opened at a time.
Components of the animal facility from whichbarriers can be created are:
• Doors with appropriate weather strippingand spring-loaded door sweeps, effec-tively deployed when the doors are shut,form simple barriers. By introducing oper-ating procedures for changing footwearand donning protective clothing on enter-ing the room and removing it on leaving, astronger barrier may be created. Interlock-ing doors at interfaces to various zonespermit only one door to be open at a time,thus improving the air barrier betweenzones of different status.
• Handsinks, positioned close to the door ofan animal room, should be used on enter-ing and exiting the animal room. The effi-cacy of handwashing as a simple barrierprocedure has been well established.
Diagram 10: Barrier challenges
• Air locks may be used as barriers and con-sist of tightly fitting doors on a pass-through chamber for passing clean orchemically sanitized equipment into thebarrier facility only.
• Anterooms or vestibules to rooms greatlyimprove the potential to create a simple andeffective barrier. The differential air pres-sures (positive or negative) in the animalroom can be maintained more effectivelywith an anteroom, providing that only onedoor is open at any one time (see interlock-ing doors above). The anteroom acts as asimple air lock, preventing the retrogrademovement of room air to the corridor orvice-versa, depending on the set differentialpressures. The anteroom also provides ahalfway stage in and out where extra layersof protective clothing and footwear can bedonned or removed. A handwashing sinkin the anteroom may further assist in estab-lishing an effective barrier.
• Change rooms are components of barriersuites or entire facilities. The change roomzone is divided into two spaces, one on theoutside of the barrier and one on theinside, usually separated by a shower unit.Clothes are removed in the outside changeroom and clean (sterilized) clothing andprotective clothing (over garments, hats,face masks, gloves, etc.) are available in theinside room. In a complete exclusion bar-rier unit, the objective is to prevent any-thing dangerous from entering the area,and therefore, showering-in may berequired. Air showers are sometimes usedas an alternative to water. In the full inclu-sion scenario, all clothing must be remov-ed before leaving and individuals mustshower-out using appropriate soaps anddisinfectants.
• Pass-through autoclaves can be installedat the room, suite or facility level as animportant tool in establishing an effectiveinclusion or exclusion barrier. They maybe used to sterilize material either into orout of the unit.
• Fumigation/disinfection chambers, usu-ally small pass-through rooms, can be
positioned at the barrier and are used tochemically sterilize larger items of equip-ment safely. The chamber operates atslight negative pressure during the expo-sure process. A manually activated ex-haust fan is used to evacuate the chamber.
• Disinfectant transfer tanks (dunk tanks)may be used for the transfer of waterproofobjects across barriers by immersion in adisinfectant solution. Dunk tanks containself-sterilizing liquid but should not beused as the sole means of decontamination.
• Controlled supply and exhaust air isrequired for the maintenance of constantair pressure differentials.
• High efficiency particulate air (HEPA) fil-ters can be used as effective barriers to thetransfer of airborne disease organisms.
The incorporation of some or all of the abovecomponents can be used to establish the phys-ical features of a barrier unit. The finalintegrity of the unit depends on the protocolsfor entry and exit of personnel and material,and the differential air pressure determineswhether it is an inclusion or exclusion barrier.Diagram 11 illustrates the use of many of theabove components to establish a barrier suite.
The relative number of animals maintainedwithin any barrier unit may vary consider-ably. Therefore, it is extremely useful to incor-porate flexible barriers into an animal facilitysuch that the relative size of the barrier can bechanged according to demand. In Diagram12, which illustrates a flexible barrier in a U-shaped corridor, the relative size of the barriersuite can be varied from A to C by sealing offthe appropriate set of corridor doors. In Dia-gram 13, which illustrates a flexible barrier ina facility with a double corridor, the relativesize of the barrier can be increased ordecreased by altering the opening of the roomto either the barrier corridor or the conven-tional corridor, respectively. The ventilationsystem in flexible barrier systems must bedesigned (segmented) to accommodate thepotential size of the barriers. Where flexible
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barriers are constructed, it isessential to ensure effectiveseparation between activebarrier and non-active bar-rier areas.
It is also possible to createtemporary and/or portablebarriers within existing ornew structures with the useof soft wall structures thatare supplied with HEPA fil-tered supply and/or exhaustsystems. These types ofunits, when run under posi-tive pressure, are useful asportable surgical units forresearch laboratories, as ameans of providing an ultra-clean room within conven-tional facilities for the hous-ing of immunocompromisedanimals, and for the mainte-nance of valuable geneticallymodified animals. They arealso effective in the reduc-tion of potential allergens.
Mobile and lightweight airfilter power units pass airthrough HEPA filters. Unfil-tered incoming air to a roomcan be directed to such apower unit using flexibleducting. Depending uponthe size of the power unit,air exchanges up to, or inexcess of, 100 air changesper hour are usually easy toachieve. Use of this technol-ogy with an attached/en-closed laminar flow hood,autoclaved cages, food andbedding, and other acces-sories, and combined withcarefully developed and func-tional procedures, can pro-vide a high level of ultra-clean housing to animalswithin such a room unit. Diagram 12: Flexible barriers — U shaped corridor
Diagram 11: Barrier system
This soft plastic wall technology can be usedin a variety of configurations:
1) New facilities: Clear soft-wall clean roomscan be used to create new laboratory ani-mal housing that has barrier level condi-tions within standard and simplifiedbuildings. These conditions are achievedvia mass air displacement through mobileHEPA filters that are combined with stand-alone power units.
2) Building renovations: Soft-wall cleanroom partitions can be installed in existingfacilities to create barrier-like conditionsvia mass air HEPA filtration. Existing airsources can be collected and HEPA filteredas well.
3) Portable systems: It is possible to use various types of portable vinyl dividersand portable mass air HEPA filtrationdevices to create semipermanent barrierconditions.
The cost of such a set-up is limited to thepower/HEPA units, plastic vinyl partitionsand supports, flexible ducting and accessory
support equipment. Therefore, costly struc-tural changes to the room(s) and air systemupgrades are not required.
3.22 Radiation shielded suites
Guideline 39:
All suites where sources of radiation are tobe used must meet current radiation safetyguidelines as established by the CanadianNuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) andmust be approved for such use by thelocal radiation safety officer.
Guideline 40:
The radiation hazard area must be sepa-rated from other animal housing and workareas, be clearly identified as a hazardarea, and have access restricted to neces-sary personnel only.
In Canada, laboratory use of radioisotopes isregulated by the Canadian Nuclear Safety
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Diagram 13: Flexible barriers — double corridor
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Commission (CNSC) (http://www.nuclearsafety.gc.ca). The CNSC issues licenses toinstitutions for the possession of radioactivematerials.
The requirement for shielding depends on thepotential of the equipment to create radiationhazards beyond the immediate confines of theroom. This must be determined by clear def-inition of the specifications of the equipmentto be located in the room and compliance withregulations and codes.
Examples of equipment requiring shieldingthat may be used in an animal facility includeX-ray apparatus for diagnostic imaging andanimal irradiation apparatus involving aradioactive source.
These guidelines do not cover the specifica-tions of rooms suitable to house equipmentemitting radiation. It is absolutely essentialthat the institutional radiation safety officeror a qualified radiation safety consultant ofthe institution be involved in the planning,building design specification, constructionand commissioning of any component of aproposed animal facility in which anyradionuclide or equipment emitting ionizingradiation is to be used. These facilities mustmeet CNSC requirements for licensing.
4. Functional Adjacencies
Guideline 41:
The components of an animal facility shouldbe organized according to function andshould promote and facilitate biosecurity.
By definition, the laboratory animal facility isa building or part of a building which enablesthe care and use of experimental animals to beperformed effectively and efficiently. Theform of the facility should primarily be deter-mined by the sum total of the functions that itmust accommodate, the spaces in which thosefunctions will occur and the manner in whichthose spaces are positioned relative to oneanother.
This is an idealistic definition since it is notunusual to be presented with an existingbuilding footprint or a floor space of predeter-mined geometry. In these cases, managing thedesired functional relationships within suchspaces can become an architectural challenge.
The relationship of the functions to be per-formed in the component spaces of the facilityneeds to be developed by teamwork of allindividuals involved in using or maintainingthese spaces. An example of this could be theneed to have procedure rooms in close prox-imity to the animal holding rooms.
Facility design must permit the logical move-ment of clean and dirty equipment to mini-mize the potential for cross-contamination ina practical and effective manner. This, ineffect, will result in a biosecure and efficientoperation.
The components of the animal facility shouldbe organized according to their functionalrelationships and desirable traffic flowswhenever possible (see Section C.5. TrafficFlow Patterns).
Examples of the functional adjacencies of ani-mal facility components are given in the fol-lowing sections (4.1 to 4.13).
4.1 Personnel facilities
Guideline 42:
The reception area should be located nearthe main personnel entrance to the facility.
Guideline 43:
Change and shower facilities should belocated near the personnel entrance to thefacility and, if required, at the transitionarea between zones within the facility.
Guideline 44:
Toilets may be placed within barrier unitsso that personnel do not have to gothrough a complete change of clothesevery time they visit the washroom. Forbiocontainment facilities, current biocon-
tainment guidelines should be consultedto determine the acceptability of wash-rooms within facilities.
Guideline 45:
The staff break room should be located atthe perimeter of the facility and close tothe personnel entrance and changing andshower facilities.
Changing and shower facilities should belocated near the entry to the facility (see Dia-gram 14) and also at the transition zone tospecific barriers within the facility. It is rec-ommended that everyone entering or exitingthe facility beyond the reception area must
pass through the change and personalhygiene facilities to ensure established SOPsfor biosecurity and biosafety can be consis-tently maintained and monitored. Whereinclusion or exclusion barriers are maintainedas a specific zone within the animal facility,appropriate changing and showering facilitiesmay also be required at the periphery of thesezones. They are often incorporated into thebarrier such that personnel are forced to gothrough the change room and/or shower inorder to enter the next area.
Locating the office area for administrative,senior technical and veterinary staff of theanimal facility adjacent to the reception areahas been found to be useful. This area is oftenlocated near the main entrance to the facility
to facilitate the receipt ofmaterials. However, itmay be preferable tolocate it in an alternativearea if the entrance to theanimal facility does notprovide the best environ-ment for personnel (e.g.,lack of access to daylight).
The staff break roomshould be located at theperimeter of the facilityand close to the changingand shower facilities. Inthis location, it may beaccessed from either out-side or inside the perime-ter but not both, depend-ing on management pref-erence. If it must be withinthe facility, food and bev-erages should be restrictedto this room. It may also beeffective to have the breakroom located near theadministrative offices ifthese are not integral tothe animal facility, as dis-cussed above.
In some cases, it may benecessary to have separatebreak rooms for differentzones within the facility.
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Diagram 14: Functional adjacencies — entrance
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However, experience has shown that in themajority of animal facilities, the break roomcan be positioned so that it is available to mostpersonnel using appropriate access protocols.The break room may be positioned effectivelyin close proximity to the change area and cen-tral for the majority of people.
4.2 Animal holding rooms
Guideline 46:
The cleanest animals in the facility shouldbe easily serviced from the clean side ofthe cagewash or clean cage storage areas,while rooms holding the dirtiest animals in
the facility should have good access to thedirty side of the cagewash area.
It is critical that traffic flow patterns be con-sidered when deciding on the location of theanimal holding rooms and their potential use.The animal holding rooms should be locatedso that there is relatively easy access to boththe dirty side of the cage washer and cleancage storage. The animals that are consideredthe dirtiest, such as random source animals,should be housed as close as possible to thedirty side of the cage washer. Similarly, theisolation room for sick animals should beclose to the dirty side of the cage washer andautoclave. Cleaner animals may be located
farther away from the dirtyside and closer to the cleanside of the cage washer.Projects that require fre-quent access by investiga-tors are often best locatednear the entry to the facility.Quarantine rooms shouldbe located near the dirtyloading dock. Examples ofanimal holding room func-tional adjacencies are givenin Diagram 15.
4.3 Procedurerooms
Guideline 47:
Procedure rooms shouldbe located as close aspossible to the animalholding rooms they willserve.
The procedure rooms with-in the facility should beadjacent to the animalholding rooms and canactually be incorporatedinto anterooms for one orseveral holding rooms, aspreviously discussed (seeDiagram 15). Animal labo-ratories outside of the ani-mal facility should beDiagram 15: Functional adjacencies — animal holding
located as close as possible to the facility sothat animals do not have to be transportedlong distances through routes of access sharedby unassociated institutional personnel ormembers of the general public.
4.3.1 Laboratory animal allergy andanimals in laboratory settings
Laboratory animal allergy (LAA) is a majorconcern for the occupational health and safetyof those exposed to laboratory animals(Wolfle & Bush, 2001). Exposure to laboratoryanimal allergens by persons outside the ani-mal facilities who are unaware of exposure isparticularly serious, especially in health caresettings.
Because of this emerging con-cern, it is recommended thatthe planning and design ofanimal facilities take intoaccount the movement of ani-mals and associated materialto and from the laboratories,developing an integratedoverall plan to minimize thehazards posed by laboratoryanimal allergens.
Movement of animals through-out the facility should be mini-mized. If transport is neces-sary, the animals should beplaced in clean, covered, andpreferably ventilated carriersthat contain fresh bedding.
Animals should be maintainedand manipulated in a nega-tively ventilated environment inthe laboratory (Harrison, 2001).However, animals should neverbe housed in chemical hoods.
4.4 Surgical suiteThe surgical suite should belocated so that animals can bemoved back and forth betweenthe animal holding rooms andthe surgical suite while mini-mizing the potential for dis-
ease transmission. It must be easily accessibleto personnel who will be working in the suite.Sterile supplies and equipment should bereadily accessible to the surgical suite (seeDiagram 16).
4.5 Cage and equipment washingand sterilization
Guideline 48:
The clean side of the cagewash areashould be linked to the clean loading dock,bedding storage area, and clean cage andequipment storage area. There should alsobe clean access back to the animal holdingrooms. The dirty side of the cagewash area
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Diagram 16: Functional adjacencies — surgery suite
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should be closely linked to the waste stor-age area and the dirty dock. Access fromthe animal holding rooms to the dirty sideof the cage washer is also required.
Examples of functional adjacencies for thecagewash component are illustrated in Dia-gram 17.
4.6 Clean cage and equipmentstorage
Guideline 49:
The clean cage and equipment storagearea should be located near the clean side
of the cage washer and the clean beddingstorage area. There must be clean accessfrom the clean storage area to the animalholding rooms and to most of the proce-dure rooms.
Examples of functional adjacencies for cleancage and equipment storage are illustrated inDiagram 17.
4.7 Clean and dirty loadingdocks
Guideline 50:
The loading dock(s) must open to the out-side of the facility. The clean dock or port
should have access to theclean animal reception areaand the clean feed and bed-ding storage area. The dirtydock or port should be read-ily accessible to the wastestorage area.
Examples of functional adja-cencies for the clean and dirtydocks are given in Diagrams18 and 19, respectively.
4.8 Animal receptionarea(s)
Guideline 51:
The clean animal receptionarea should be adjacent tothe clean dock. The dirtyanimal reception area, ifrequired, should be adjacentto the dirty dock.
Animals that are clean ordeemed disease-free can bereceived from the clean dockand then enter the adjacentanimal receiving room (seeDiagram 18). Depending uponthe management preference,animals may then be un-Diagram 17: Functional adjacencies — cagewash
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packed and caged in the receiv-ing room using a positively ven-tilated HEPA filtered air cabinet,or the boxes may be sprayedwith disinfectant and then takento animal holding for unpack-ing. In either case, the functionis designated as a clean one.
Certain animals are deemed'dirty', such as random sourcedogs and cats or captive wildspecies such as woodchucks,raccoons, skunks, etc. Animalsof this type must be received atthe dirty dock (see Diagram 19)and then transported immedi-ately to the designated holdingor quarantine and conditioningsuite (an inclusion barrier).
4.9 Feed and beddingstorage
Guideline 52:
The feed storage area must be accessiblefrom a clean receiving area and from theanimal holding rooms.
Guideline 53:
The bedding storage area must be acces-sible from a clean receiving area and theclean side of the cagewash area, unlessthe bedding is to be transferred to thecagewash area via a vacuum system.
The functional adjacencies for feed and bed-ding are illustrated in Diagram 18.
4.10 Waste storage
Guideline 54:
The waste storage area should be easilyaccessible from the dirty side of the cage-wash area.
Preferably, waste storage should be locatedoutside of the main core of the animal facility.It should also be closely linked with the dirty
loading dock. This may differ if transferoccurs via a vacuum conveyor.
Examples of functional adjacencies for the cagewasher, waste storage and dirty dock compo-nents are illustrated in Diagram 19.
4.11 Necropsy area
Guideline 55:
Necropsy is considered a potentially 'dirty'function and, therefore, should be locatednear other dirty functions in the facility,such as waste storage and disposal (e.g.,incineration or hydrolysis).
Examples of functional adjacencies for thenecropsy area are illustrated in Diagram 19.
4.12 Mechanical services
Guideline 56:
The placement of mechanical systemsshould be such that servicing has a mini-
Diagram 18: Functional adjacencies — clean dock
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mal impact on the facility’s environment.Where possible, mechanical systemsshould be located so that they can be serv-iced from areas separate from the animalholding and manipulation rooms.
Early in the planning process, careful reviewof the putative spatial requirements for themechanical and electrical equipment and theentire distribution system is recommended.This is of vital importance where the animalfacility is to be located on designated floors ofa laboratory building under development orwill be a renovation of existing space.
Accessibility for servicing and repair of thedistribution systems in the animal facility canbe problematic. Diagram 9 illustrates poten-tial locations for mechanical services. Ideally,utility service corridors, such as interstitial orepistitial spaces, can be utilized to facilitatewell-organized distribution systems and goodservice and repair access. Distribution sys-tems within the ceiling spaces of corridors canprovide an adequate design solution for dis-tribution, particularly where floor-to-ceilingheight is substantial. Access, however, invari-ably requires service and repair personnel toenter the facility which, even when well man-
aged, is neither ideal for theservice personnel nor the sci-entific and animal care staff.Interstitial space, or attic orsuprastitial space in single-story buildings, offers manydesign and operation advan-tages: it provides separateaccess for service and repairpersonnel; it affords ease ofaccess to the equipment forservicing (e.g., reheat boxes,dampers, air filtration system,etc., and all the distributionlines, conduit and piping); andit can also provide opportuni-ties to access lighting fromabove without disturbing theintegrity of the rooms below.
Some components, such aspumps and fans, are quitenoisy and are often associated
with a significant amount of vibration. All ofthis type of equipment should be located out-side of the facility when possible, with soundand vibration attenuation. Ideally, all servic-ing of equipment should be from outside thefacility, and especially outside barrier facili-ties or suites. This can be accomplished byplacing mechanical services on a separatefloor adjacent to the animal facility or by theuse of service corridors. Where space restric-tions require the mechanical distribution sys-tems to be located above the ceiling, access forservicing should be made possible from thecorridor and not from the animal or experi-mental rooms. The cagewash area should bedesigned so the cage washer and the auto-clave, if present, can be serviced from thedirty side. In biocontainment facilities, thebody of the autoclave should be on the clean(uncontaminated) side of the barrier.
4.13 Corridors
Guideline 57:
Corridors must be strategically located sothat they interconnect the various compo-nents of the animal facility and enhanceefficient traffic flow patterns.
Diagram 19: Functional adjacencies — dirty dock
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Corridors are an extremely important compo-nent of an animal facility. They not only facil-itate movement, but can also be used to regu-late traffic flow, depending on location andaccess.
5. Traffic Flow Patterns
Guideline 58:
Traffic flow within an animal facility shouldprogress from the cleanest to the dirtiestparts of the facility.
Once the components of the animal facilityare assembled according to their functionaladjacencies, the rudiments of the completeand integrated whole should start to fall intoplace. At this point, it becomes necessary todevelop concepts of movement from onepoint to another in a logical way (see Appen-dix E). Generally, the logic is based on a pro-gressive movement from the cleanest areas(less potential of microbial contamination) ofthe facility to the dirtiest areas (greater poten-tial of microbial contamination). This princi-ple applies to the movement of people, equip-ment, material and food, as well as to themovement of air.
Historically, the clean and dirty corridor sys-tem demonstrated a clear expression of this
concept (see Diagram 20). Only clean materi-als, equipment and people can be taken to theanimal holding rooms via a clean corridor.Dirty material is passed through a seconddoor at the other end of the animal holdingroom into a dirty corridor to be taken forcleaning or appropriate disposal. Only desig-nated personnel are permitted in the dirtycorridor and nowhere else, unless they thor-oughly decontaminate and change clothing.This system is still used in certain situations.It is extravagant on floor space, however,because of the duplication of corridors thatoffer limited versatility for use. It also oftenrequires more personnel and strict SOPs to befunctional. The system usually needs strongjustification.
It has become more acceptable in manyinstances to use a unidirectional flow patternin combination with limited bidirectionalflow. Diagram 21 illustrates possible trafficflow patterns in a conceptual animal facility.In this scenario, the traffic moves in a circlewherever possible. Clean people, equipmentand food flow in a single direction.
Soiled material for cleaning and/or disposalfollows a similar direction to the more soiledareas of the facility, such as the dirty side ofthe cagewash. Where bidirectional flow isrequired, these areas are maintained meticu-
Diagram 20: Clean/dirty corridor system
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Diagram 21: Traffic flow in a conceptual animal facility
lously clean. This system requires careful atten-tion to effective SOPs for the movement of per-sonnel and equipment. Both clean and dirtyitems of equipment are containerized or effec-tively covered for transportation around thefacility. Personnel don appropriate protectiveovergarments for each animal holding areaaccording to formally established procedures.
Anterooms greatly improve the segregation ofanimal holding rooms, as discussed previ-ously under Section 3.21 (Barriers) and else-where, and they complement the effectiveoperation of bidirectional flow patternsextremely well.
6. Materials and Finishes
The first general guideline of a laboratory ani-mal facility (see General Guideline A) empha-sizes the need for all components, includingmaterials and finishes, to be designed to facil-itate the sanitation processes.
Guideline 59:
Materials and finishes should be durable,impervious and resistant to water andchemicals used in their sanitation. In addi-tion, they must be resistant to damage byequipment used in the facility, such ascage racks, or they must be protected fromdamage. Ledges, crevices, cracks andunsealed service penetrations that canharbor dirt and vermin should be elimi-nated wherever possible, and all hollowdoors must be filled or completely sealed.
6.1 Walls
Walls should be covered with an imperviouscoating that withstands frequent cleaning andchemical disinfectants. An epoxy coating isfrequently applied. The walls should be freeof cracks, and all pipe and service sleevesshould be sealed to exclude vermin. For easeof cleaning, the walls should be seamless andthe floor coved to the walls.
The most common substrates for walls areconcrete block and drywall. When using con-crete blocks, a medium weight should be usedto achieve a dense smooth block face. Low-density blocks are difficult to seal and leavesmall pores which are difficult to clean. Shal-low concave mortar joints should be used forease of cleaning. The concrete blocks can befilled with sand to improve sound attenuation(these are strongly recommended for primateand dog rooms). For walls that are not easilysealed, fiberglass reinforced plastic panels canbe used to produce an effective wall coveringfor animal facilities.
Metal framing should be used with drywall.Wood framing members are unsuitable foranimal facility construction. The drywall usedshould be moisture resistant and fire rated.All seams must be well sealed. There shouldbe a smooth juncture between the wall andthe upper edge of the integral cove base (i.e.no ledge).
Corridor walls are especially prone to damagedue to the movement of carts, cage racks, etc.Therefore, it is usually necessary to protectthe walls and corners with some form of bum-per guards or protective shields. These areavailable in many materials, such as plastic,stainless steel and aluminum. Care should betaken when selecting bumper guards toensure that they can be easily and thoroughlycleaned and that they cannot harbor vermin.
6.2 Floors
The base floor for animal facilities should beconcrete slab. The expansion joints in the con-crete should be located under walls whereverpossible. The quality of workmanship is criti-cal to the function and durability of the floor.
Seamless epoxy flooring with integral covebase is the most common flooring used, espe-cially in animal rooms. It is durable, impervi-ous to many chemicals and solvent-basedproducts and easily cleaned. It can be madeless slippery by adding grit to the surface;however, care must be taken not to make thesurface too rough since this will reduce thelifespan of the floor and make sanitation more
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difficult. Toxic fumes are released duringinstallation and repair, and evacuation of thearea during the repair process is advised.
Methyl methacrylate is often used as an alter-native to epoxy due to its quick curing timeand the reduced time of exposure to toxicfumes.
Sheet vinyl with heat or chemically-weldedseams is being used more often in animal facil-ities, especially in corridors. It is available withan integral cove base, is comfortable to walkon, can be obtained with non-slip capability,and reduces noise levels. However, it tends tostain and mark more easily than epoxy. It iseasily and effectively repaired if damaged. Theprocess does not produce toxic vapors and,therefore, does not require evacuation of thearea. Certain sheet vinyl products are availablewith built-in antibacterial properties.
A sealed or painted concrete floor generallydoes not stand-up well, requires frequentrefinishing and does not provide a non-slipsurface. In addition, the rubber or vinyl covebases often associated with these types of fin-ishes may provide a refuge for vermin.
All other floor types should be investigatedclosely and, if possible, tested before usingextensively in a facility. Review of installationsin other animal facilities is also recommended.
6.3 Ceilings
As with floors and walls, ceilings must beresistant to frequent washing and disinfec-tion; however, they are not subject to the samewear and tear. The preferred substrate for ceil-ings is moisture resistant drywall that is wellsealed at all ceiling-wall joints and penetra-tions. It should be coated with a two-stageepoxy finish or a high-quality enamel paint.It is easier to patch enamel if required, butoverall, it is demonstrably less durable. Aseamless ceiling should be provided in all ani-mal holding and procedure rooms.
It is often necessary to have access to themechanical and electrical services which runin the space between the ceiling and the roof
or the floor above. It is recommended thatthese services be located above hallways,rather than in animal rooms, whenever possi-ble. A T-bar ceiling can be used to permitaccess to the services. The suspension fram-ing is often subject to corrosion from highmoisture levels and hence reinforced plastic,aluminum or stainless steel should be consid-ered. The panels should be easily cleaned(smooth-surfaced vinyl-coated drywall pan-els work well). Lighter panels should be keptin place with clips to improve the sealbetween the panels and the frame. The use ofthe underside of concrete slabs as ceilingswith no subceiling is not recommended; itmay be difficult to clean and the exposedpipes and mechanical services tend to collectdust. These ceilings may also be subject tocorrosion from high moisture levels. At a min-imum, concrete must be sealed with purpose-made products to prevent the continuous sur-face erosion and dust formation.
6.4 Doors
Doors in animal facilities must be capable oftaking considerable abuse. Top quality prod-ucts and workmanship should be used. Thedoors and frames should be made of adurable metal and be completely sealed orfilled with foam to prevent access to verminsuch as cockroaches. The frames should fitwithin the wall space, rather than overlap-ping, so that there are no ledges to collectdust. The doors should be large enough toaccommodate the movement of all requiredmaterials, such as cage racks. The minimumsizes are 120 cm nominal opening for a singledoor and 180 cm nominal opening for a dou-ble door. In order to protect the doors fromdamage, it is often necessary to cover at leastthe lower half with sheet stainless steel, alu-minum or plastic. Bumper guardrails mayalso be required on more vulnerable doors. Adoor sweep should be installed on the base ofthe door if the clearance exceeds 32 mm.
Windows in the doors are extremely useful toallow observation into rooms and as a safetyfeature. The windows on animal holdingroom doors do not have to be large (e.g., 15 x20 cm). It is necessary to be able to close the
window to external light or movement asrequired; however, if a screening device isincorporated into the door structure, it shouldbe well sealed so that it does not harbor ver-min. Opaque magnetic sheets can be usedeffectively to occlude small windows on ani-mal holding room doors. Larger windows indoors have also been used successfully.Where animal rooms or procedure rooms aresmall, they help make the space less claustro-phobic. Larger windows can be temporarilyblocked out with caulked plastic laminatewhen necessary.
Guideline 60:
The direction in which doors swing shouldbe such that they are safe, do not impedetraffic flow and complement the control ofairflow where required.
There are many criteria that must be takeninto consideration when deciding which waya door should open. These criteria need to beevaluated and used in the final decision, real-izing that in many cases it is impossible to sat-isfy all the criteria. The swing of doors shouldbe such that they cause the least interferencewith movement and transport. Generally, thedoors should swing into a room, rather thanout into a hall or corridor. However, if thereis limited traffic within a corridor, or doorswill be opened infrequently, opening thedoor(s) into the corridor may allow more effi-cient use of space within a room or anteroom.Doors in relatively close proximity, such asthose in an anteroom, should both swing inthe same direction or if necessary out from theanteroom such that only one door need beopened at a time. Interlocking doors are oftenuseful to ensure that only one door is openedat a time. In order for self-closing doors towork effectively, it is usually necessary forthem to close in the direction of airflow. How-ever, doors in a biocontainment facility, par-ticularly between areas of different status orpressure, should open with the airflow (andclose against it). This prevents aerosolsand/or contaminants from being draggedfrom contaminated to clean areas by the vac-uum created by opening the door. This is also
the direction of swing that will have the leasteffect on the airflow patterns. The effectivefunction and safe use of a door should dictateits direction of swing, which in turn mayrequire compensating mechanical devices tomake them work effectively (e.g., strongerself-locking devices, interlocking doors andwarning lights). If the animal facility will beused by a large number of investigators, thedoors should have locks that can be individu-ally keyed, keypads, proximity reader accesscontrol, or similar devices.
6.5 Windows
Although natural sunlight is beneficial tohumans and animals, windows are not rec-ommended in most cases for animal holdingrooms due to the difficulty they pose in con-trolling internal environments and to securityconcerns. Temperature fluctuations due toradiation, conduction and convection can bequite extreme. Windows may be incorporatedinto outside corridors or staff rooms, pro-vided that all security concerns are met andthat windows are well sealed. Interior win-dows between rooms or between rooms andcorridors often open up an enclosed spaceand give a more open feeling. They are oftenuseful in staff areas and surgical suites tomaximize visual communication. Non-break-able windows with metal frames are recom-mended. The frames should be flush with thewalls or recessed.
6.6 Cabinets and other fixedequipment
Guideline 61:
Cabinetry in an animal holding roomshould be limited to that which is essentialfor the proper functioning of the room.
Only essential equipment should be built intoanimal holding rooms since the more equip-ment, the more difficult it is to clean and thegreater the potential for harboring unused sup-plies and vermin. Cabinets and sinks should bewell sealed to the walls.
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Stainless steel is very durable, resistant tomost chemicals and easily cleaned, and hence,the most often recommended material for ani-mal facilities. Some epoxy-coated metal orplastic finishes may be acceptable, but theseshould be thoroughly investigated, and wherepossible, tested before using throughout thefacility.
Mobile stainless steel equipment that can beremoved and thoroughly sanitized betweenprojects should be seriously considered as thisenhances the versatility of space utilization.
7. Plumbing
Guideline 62:
Potable water must be available within theanimal facility for both animal and humanconsumption. Water should be of a con-sistently high quality so that it does notaffect research results.
Guideline 63:
Ample hot and cold water must be avail-able throughout the facility for sanitationpurposes.
Guideline 64:
Water must be available for all safety equip-ment, such as eyewash stations, emergen-cy showers and fire sprinkler systems.
Guideline 65:
Sinks, showers and toilets must be strate-gically located to accommodate good per-sonal hygiene and to minimize the poten-tial for contamination.
Guideline 66:
Drains must be strategically located inareas where water may be used exten-sively for cleaning. Drains that are notused on a daily basis should be sealedwhen not in use or equipped with manualor automatic flushing systems.
Guideline 67:
Laboratory biosafety guidelines should beconsulted to determine whether effluenttreatment is required.
7.1 Drinking water
Standards for the quality of drinking waterfor laboratory animals have not been subjectto the same stringent requirements as thosefor defining laboratory animal diets. How-ever, the principle of ensuring potable water,with minimization of variables in its analysis,has been accepted for many years. The inor-ganic and organic chemical content of potablewater varies significantly in different geo-graphic locations, creating inevitable vari-ables from region to region.
Historically, the principal concern with drink-ing water for laboratory animals was the con-trol of the growth of potentially harmful bac-teria. Inhibition of bacterial growth waseffected by the addition of chlorine to thedrinking water or acidification of the pH tobetween 2.6 and 3.0. The addition of chlorineto drinking water will produce trihalo-methanes from the interaction with methanegroups from natural organic materials. Someof this group of chemicals (e.g., chloroform)may exist in biologically significant levels,and vary depending upon the time of the year(e.g., spring run-off). Subsequently, concernsregarding heavy metal, herbicide and pesti-cide residues became significant issues.
When designing a new animal facility orretrofitting established ones, water quality isone of the major criteria which will contributeto good research and testing practices. Watertreatment systems currently include prefiltra-tion, ion exchange systems, ultraviolet irradi-ation, ultrafiltration (0.5 microns), and reverseosmosis.
The prevalent, and probably the most consis-tently effective method of providing qualitydrinking water for laboratory animals, isreverse osmosis with appropriate pretreat-ment for the feed-water as recommended bythe equipment supplier following feed-wateranalysis.
In reverse osmosis (RO), water is forced bypressure through a semipermeable mem-brane. The process is therefore the opposite,or the reverse, of natural osmosis in thatwater flows from a more concentrated solu-tion, through the semipermeable membrane,to a less concentrated solution. The appropri-ate pretreatment of the feed-water recom-mended by the supplier gives the maximumduration of use of the semipermeable mem-brane. RO systems are recommended for usewith automatic watering systems. In calculat-ing predicted water utilization with RO, thepurified water or recovery of permeate isapproximately 33 to 50% and the remainder isdiscarded.
7.2 Animal holding rooms
Guideline 68:
All animal holding rooms and/or theirassociated anterooms should have a handwashing sink, preferably located near thedoor.
Every animal holding room should be sup-plied with hot and cold water and a sink,preferably stainless steel, for washing hands.The sink water controls should be automaticor wrist, foot or knee activated. The sinkshould be located relatively close to the doorto allow hand cleaning upon entry and exit.The drains for these sinks must be sealed suchthat waste water cannot be aerosolized intothe animal room. It is advisable to have a hose connection as well, especially in largeanimal holding rooms. There are good built-in hose bibs specifically designed for animalfacilities (see Diagram 22).
Guideline 69:
Floor drains should be strategicallylocated and designed so that they can besealed when not in use or easily flushed tomaintain an effective water trap.
Floor drains are required in large animalrooms and should be a minimum of 15 cm indiameter and contain flush systems. Thesemay be incorporated with floor trenches,
depending on the method used for housingthe larger animals. Floor drains are notrequired in rodent holding rooms, althoughthey may be useful during major clean-upsbetween groups of animals. If floor drains areused in the rodent rooms or in corridors, theyshould be a minimum of 10 cm in diameterand incorporate running traps with coldwater primer lines or a manual (see Diagram23) or automatic flushing system. All floordrains should be designed to prevent back-flow.
All floors should slope towards the drain.Where floors are flat (e.g., in rodent rooms tokeep the racks level), the area surrounding thefloor drain should be dished to facilitate thecapture of water moved towards it.
7.3 Procedure rooms
Animal preparation areas, surgical suites,necropsy areas and other unique areas willrequire plumbing specific to the equipmentused. Consultation with the supplier of theequipment prior to installation of the roughplumbing is recommended. The faucets forhand wash sinks in these areas should be
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Diagram 22: Recessed hose bib detail
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designed to minimize cross-contamination.When functioning properly, faucets that areactivated by an infrared eye are ideal.
7.4 Personnel areas
Washrooms and showers should be welldesigned, sufficiently large and easy to sani-tize. Sinks should be included in the staffrooms and washrooms, and automatic orwrist or knee activated faucets should be usedwherever possible.
7.5 Cagewash and sterilizationareas
The cage washer, bottle washer, sipper tubewashers, autoclaves, etc. have unique plumb-ing requirements that must be designed in con-sultation with the supplier of the equipment.
Large double sinks are often included on thedirty side of the cagewash area for the dis-posal of urine and the rinsing of cages.
It may also be necessary to have a very welldrained bay or alcove for hosing down large
pieces of equipment that will not fit in the cagewasher or require a preparatory pre-rinse.
8. Electrical
8.1 Electrical outlets
Guideline 70:
All electrical outlets in animal rooms andin other areas where they may be exposedto water must have a ground fault inter-rupter (GFI) and be fitted with an all-weather cover.
Guideline 71:
If there is the possibility of using venti-lated cage systems, change hoods orother electrical equipment in an animalroom, this should be taken into considera-tion when planning the location and distri-bution of power to the room.
Guideline 72:
All electrical conduits through walls mustbe completely sealed to eliminate theirpotential use as routes for vermin oraerosols.
At least one electrical outlet is required ineach animal room. These outlets must belocated so they are easily accessible to peopleusing the rooms, but not to the animals heldwithin (i.e. they should not be located withinthe animal pens unless suspended from theceiling out of the animal's reach).
Guideline 73:
Electrical power outlets for portable equip-ment are required in most rooms of an ani-mal facility, including animal holdingrooms and corridors. These must be safefor both animals and humans, and must bereadily accessible without the need forexcessive use of extension cords.
Diagram 23: Flushing drain pipe
Electrical outlets should be strategicallylocated throughout the facility to accommo-date most portable electrical equipment with-out requiring the use of extension cords.
8.2 Equipment
Guideline 74:
The power for specialized equipment (i.e.cage washers, autoclaves, surgical lamps,automated plumbing units, etc.) must besized and installed according to the rec-ommendations of the manufacturers of theequipment.
8.3 Light fixtures
Guideline 75:
All light fixtures throughout the animalfacility should be vapor-proof.
All light fixtures in animal rooms, cagewasharea, surgical suite and other areas that maybe exposed to water or high humidity must bevapor-proof. It is recommended that all otherlight fixtures in the facility be vapor-proof aswell to facilitate cleaning.
8.4 Monitoring and communication
The electrical and wiring requirements forsecurity monitoring, environmental monitor-ing and communication must be taken intoconsideration during the planning phase.These will each be discussed below undertheir separate headings (see Sections C.9.Environmental Monitoring Systems, andC.10. Security).
8.5 Emergency power
Guideline 76:
An emergency power source must be avail-able for all facilities holding animals forresearch, teaching and testing purposes.
In order to maintain the health and well-beingof animals during power outages, it is essen-
tial that critical functions be supplied withemergency power. A reduction of 50% of theair supply for short periods of time may beacceptable; however, the maintenance of airpressure differentials is essential, especially incontainment areas. Sufficient emergencylighting should be available to permit person-nel to function safely in the animal facility.The surgical suite should be supplied withsufficient power to allow the completion ofsurgeries during a power outage. All equip-ment requiring electricity that could be in useduring a surgical procedure must be on theemergency power supply. This includes suchitems as a portable X-ray unit, as well as thebasic equipment, lamps, respirators and elec-trocauterizers. Emergency power may also berequired to maintain the security system.
The most common source of backup power isa diesel-powered electrical generator. The fuelholding tanks should be capable of holdingenough fuel to run the generator for a mini-mum of 24 hours. Generators powered by natural gas are also used, but are dependenton a constant gas supply and are thereforeless independent than diesel-powered gener-ators. Propane is a gas alternative that can bestored. Electrical generators are very noisyand require careful positioning with soundand vibration isolation relative to the animalfacility.
9. Environmental MonitoringSystems
Guideline 77:
Temperature, relative humidity and differ-ential pressures should be monitored fre-quently in each and every animal holdingroom.
The animal environment must be monitored.This can be done with stand-alone devicesthat record the temperature and humidity;these systems usually require the manualrecording of the temperature and humidity ona daily basis. Computer systems have beendeveloped that will monitor more environ-
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mental parameters on a more frequent basisand send the information to a central location.For example, temperature, humidity, airexchanges, air pressure and lighting can berecorded for each room in a facility through-out the day. Alarm systems can be built inwhich will signal if the environment fluctu-ates outside set parameters. The alarms canalso be transmitted by phone lines to remotelocations. The environmental monitoring canbe tied in with the security system.
Temperature should be monitored andrecorded at approximately 90 cm from thefloor. Temperature sensors for activation ofreheat coils are commonly located in theexhaust duct close to the animal room. This,in effect, reads the sum total of the tempera-ture of the supply air plus heat gain in theroom. Humidity can be recorded in the sup-ply air duct.
Permanently fixed air pressure recordingdevices are becoming more common in animalfacilities. Regardless of whether they are built-in recording devices or not, the differential airpressures within the animal facility should bechecked on a regular basis to ensure the cor-rect direction of airflow. This is extremelyimportant for barrier units. Differential pres-sures should be recorded between animalholding rooms and the adjoining rooms or cor-ridor. It may be more practical and effective tomeasure the actual direction of movement ofair between areas than to measure differentialpressures.
10.SecurityThe security system is an essential componentof the overall security plan for the laboratoryanimal facility. There are some very good locksystems on the market that do not allowduplication of keys. Card or proximity badgeaccess systems have the advantage over keysin that they permit the passage of people to bemonitored and restrict the times of access.They also have the advantage of being able toquickly delete lost or stolen cards or badgesfrom the system. A card or proximity badge
access system usually works well at the majorentry points to a facility and in highlyrestricted areas. The advantage of proximitybadge readers is that they can remain under aprotective garment and continue to function.They can also eliminate hand use and aretherefore of less concern as fomites. Moresophisticated systems, based on the uniqueanatomical characteristics of individuals (e.g.,thumbprints and retinal conformation), are onthe market but are very costly. Number key-pads may also be useful in less secure areassuch as animal rooms. A combination of num-ber keypad and card access can be used toincrease security, especially against lost cards.
11. Safety Equipment
Guideline 78:
All required safety equipment must beinstalled so that it meets safety regula-tions but does not compromise the func-tionality of the laboratory animal facility.
Equipment such as fire extinguishers and firehoses should be strategically located so thatthey are not bumped by equipment beingmoved through the facility. Hoses may bemounted in wall recesses. Fire alarms shouldbe mounted so they will not be set off acci-dentally. Light alarms may be acceptable insome locations (see Section 12.1 Sound).Emergency showers and eyewash stationsshould be strategically located, but positionedsuch that they do not impede normal trafficflows. Units are available that fold up or fitinto wall recesses.
Sprinkler systems must be installed in animalfacilities. The sprinkler systems should bedesigned so that they are easy to sanitize anddo not harbor vermin.
12.EnvironmentThe ability to control the environment withinan animal facility is critical to the well-beingof the animals held within, the comfort of theusers and the validity of the research.
There are many physical, chemicaland biological factors which mayinfluence experimental animals andthus modify the results of investiga-tors… The experimental resultsobtained are, in principle, only validfor the conditions under which theywere obtained and only useful forcomparison if all the relevant infor-mation concerning experimental con-ditions is made available. (CCACGuide to the Care and Use of Experimen-tal Animals, 2nd ed., 1993, p. 21).
The unequivocal imperative for valid, repeat-able research and testing using laboratory ani-mals sets significant demands on the architec-ture and mechanical engineering required tocreate an acceptable animal research environ-ment. The environmental factors comprisingthe challenges to the architecture-engineeringteam are reviewed below.
12.1 Sound
Guideline 79:
Equipment and activities that generatelarge amounts of noise should be soundisolated from the rest of the animal facility.
Guideline 80:
Animals that are very sensitive to noise,such as rodent breeding colonies, should be located as far away as possiblefrom noise-generating equipment or noisyanimals.
Excessive or inappropriate noise can be irri-tating and, in some cases, detrimental to ani-mal and/or human health; therefore, noisemust be controlled. The animal facility is fullof sounds during the active part of the daysuperimposed on the continuous baselinenoise associated with HVAC systems. Cagewashers and sterilizers, hoses, high-pressuresprays, and the movement of equipment andcages all generate noise. Certain animals gen-erate considerable noise in one way oranother, with the noisiest being non-humanprimates (NHPs) and dogs. Humans may addsubstantially to the noise level.
Humans and rats can tolerate up to 80 dBwithout harm; however, chinchillas, guineapigs, monkeys and cats are more sensitive tonoise and 60 dB is the maximum intensity tol-erable when the overstimulation remains con-stant (Peterson, 1980). It is also reported thathamsters, guinea pigs and mice go through aphase of cochlear development which makesthem very sensitive to acoustic trauma. In theanimal facility, some of the larger animals cangenerate noise which exceeds the safe limitsstated above (e.g., swine produce noise inexcess of 80 dB and NHPs may create noise inexcess of 80 dB by clattering and bangingmetallic objects). However, although theonset of the noise is very startling, it may notbe sustained. Dogs, when barking, may pro-duce background noise from 90 to 110 dB.Even though dogs, NHPs and pigs producethese loud noises, there is good evidence indi-cating that persistent high noise is not goodfor their health.
Guideline 81:
Animals that produce large amounts ofnoise should be sound isolated from therest of the facility.
Animals that produce loud noise, such asNHPs and dogs, should not be kept in largegroups, but rather be compartmentalized intosmaller groups to control the sound. How-ever, this will not eliminate the need for pro-tective earmuffs when working with theseanimals.
Anterooms may also act as sound locks andassist in sound attenuation and isolation. Thisstrategy is extremely valuable when housingpredictably noisy species.
Guideline 82:
Whenever possible, the frequency of thesound emitted by alarms and bells used inthe animal facility should be selected in arange that does not affect the animals.Visual alarms may be used as an alterna-tive in some cases.
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Peterson (1980) states that rats are capable ofhearing sounds as high in frequency as 60 to80 kHz (kilohertz, or cycles per second inthousands), and that ultrasonic vocalizationplays an extremely important role in theirsocial, sexual and familial behavior. Thesehigher frequency sounds in the animal facilityare not necessarily damaging to the rat's audi-tory apparatus, but can cause significant neu-roendocrinological disturbance and affectresearch results. For example, wild micetrapped at airports have larger adrenal glandsthan conspecifics in similar terrain beyondearshot of the aircraft. Rabbits and ratsexposed to white noise (60 to 16,000 Hz) at 112dB daily for 1.5 hours, compared to 60 dB for1.5 hours, showed increased adrenal weights(Nayfield & Besch, 1981). These examples areindicative of chronic stress conditions medi-ated via the auditory system.
Audiogenic seizures in mice are characterizedby generalized convulsions triggered byexposure to intense auditory stimulation. Themice usually start out by wild running andprogressively go into convulsions. Death mayresult from respiratory paralysis. The inten-sity and frequency of the sound contribute tothese audiogenic effects. The optimum condi-tion for audiogenic seizure production is 90 to120 dB (loud) at 10 to 20 kHz (Seyfried, 1979).Emitters of sounds in this frequency range inthe animal facility may be doorbells, alarmbells (fire), jangling keys and banging metallicobjects (containers).
Equipment that produces noise at harmfullevels should not be incorporated into animalfacilities. Low frequency fire alarms are avail-able and very effective (Clough & Fasham,1975). For example, during a round-the-clockrat behavioral experiment involving constantvideo-recorded observation, an unannouncedfire drill occurred. The audible low frequencyalarm emitted an urgent sound (offensive tothe human ear) which was very effective. Therats, under close observation at the time,remained unperturbed (Neil, pers. comm.,July 1998).
Intercom systems within animal rooms canalso be very disturbing to the animals. Theseshould either be eliminated from the animalrooms or muted if deemed necessary (e.g., asan emergency communication device in ahigher level biocontainment suite).
Guideline 83:
Sound reducing features should be incor-porated into the building structure. Aswell, sound systems should be used tomask noises generated within the facility.
The fabric of the facility can help to attenuatesound. Mass in the structure is important: themore massive, the greater the ability to absorbsound. Such strategies as filling concretemasonry unit (concrete block) walls with sandor grout are therefore used. Hanging heavyplastic sound baffles may also help in openspaces. Composite sound absorbent panels arenow commercially available; however, it isimportant to check the ease with which they canbe sanitized. Sound attenuation and sanitationrequirements may conflict, and hence, it may benecessary to reach a workable compromise.
Masking entails the use of sound such as thatfrom a radio or CD system to mask irritatingbackground noises or intermittent bursts ofnoise which might startle the animals. It isvery useful to have an automatic sound sys-tem incorporated into the animal facility; notonly will it mask background noise, but it willalso give some consistency in noise betweenweekdays and weekends. In addition, it cancontribute environmental enrichment for boththe animals and the staff.
12.2 Light
Three aspects of light in animal facilities needto be considered: photo-intensity, photope-riod, and quality or spectral composition.These should be considered from the perspec-tives of both the well-being of the animals andpersonnel.
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12.2.1 Photo-intensity
Guideline 84:
In most animal rooms, and especially inrodent rooms, lighting should be designedto provide at least two levels of intensityduring the light cycle.
For most animals, with the notable exceptionsof diurnal sight-oriented mammals (e.g., grey-hounds), low light levels do not present aproblem. Bright light, however, should beavoided. Animals with non-pigmented irises,such as albino rats and mice and white pink-eyed rabbits, are not able to accommodate tomore intense light levels. It has been demon-strated that light levels above 325 lux (30 footcandles) for prolonged periods will induceirreversible and progressive phototoxic retin-opathy in albino rats. Ophthalmological andhistopathological changes observed in theretina that are phototoxically induced areindistinguishable from degenerative changesinduced by chemical toxicity or hereditaryanomalies (Bellhorn, 1980).
For animal rooms that are to house commonspecies of laboratory animals, the normallight intensity should be approximately 325lux at one metre above floor level (Bellhorn,1980). Where task lighting for people isneeded in the animal room, it should berestricted in its dispersion throughout theroom, if possible. Furthermore, the period ofsubstantially-increased light levels should beminimized. Levels of around 1000 lux (90 footcandles) provide adequate task lighting ifused judiciously. An override control willpermit increasing the intensity up to a maxi-mum of 1000 lux for limited periods of time.The intensity should automatically go back tothe lower level after a set period of time (com-monly 20 minutes).
Measuring photo-intensity in the centre of ananimal room is fraught with problemsbecause it does not take into account the over-all light distribution throughout the room, nordoes it address the position and distributionof the cages relative to the light source. The
latter should be considered in planning thepositioning of light fixtures if rack and cagedeployment is at all predictable. The lightintensity on the top shelf of a rack may be con-siderably higher than that within shelves ofthe rack, and hence one should avoid placingcages on the top shelf.
12.2.2 Photoperiod
Guideline 85:
Diurnal light cycles in animal holdingrooms should be controlled and monitoredcentrally.
The intensity of light required for humans tocarry out their daily activities in an animalroom is often too bright for the animals heldwithin and may cause retinal damage. There-fore, it is recommended that the lights bedesigned so they can be set at different inten-sities, especially in rodent rooms and for someavian species (see Section C.12.2.3 Spectralquality, for more information on lightsources). These lights should be on automaticcontrols that revert the lights back to the pre-ferred intensity for the animal occupants aftera specified time lapse (e.g., 20 minutes).
Where the mechanical services are located inthe interstitial space, it is often possible tohave external access to the light fixtures. Dia-gram 24 illustrates the mounting of a light fix-ture for external access.
Rats and mice are reported to reproduce opti-mally and show no behavior problems usinga diurnal cycle of 14 hours light and 10 hoursdark. Most species held for maintenance dowell on a 12:12 light cycle. Animals' endoge-nous rhythms can be significantly skewed ifthe dark phase of the cycle is interrupted.Therefore, it is recommended that windows toanimal holding rooms be occludable. Windowclosures can be built into the door or opaquemagnetic covers can be used.
Nocturnal animals are more active during thedark hours and may not respond well to han-dling during daylight hours when they are
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resting. Reversed light cycles are useful whenworking with hamsters, marmosets, etc., andin some cases with mice and rats. It has beenshown that the length of 'day' (light) and'night' (dark) in rodents influences: a) hepaticmetabolism of drugs; b) pentobarbital sleeptime; c) DNA synthesis and mitoses; d) serumcortisone levels; e) serum lipids; and f) bodytemperature. Therefore, consistency in thediurnal cycle is often critical to reliableresearch results. In certain circumstances, anabrupt change between light and darkness isnot acceptable, and the crepuscular periods ofdawn and dusk must be simulated.
12.2.3 Spectral quality
Guideline 86:
The wavelength of light should simulatethe natural wavelengths of sunlight asclosely as possible.
Most animals do best at light wavelengthssimilar to that of natural sunlight, rangingfrom 300 nm to 2000 nm with the majorityclustered between 450 nm and 700 nm. Thehuman visible spectrum is between 390 nmand 750 nm. Lighting, and particularly itsspectral quality, plays a profound role in thedemeanor and work performance of users.
Plastic cages used to house most rodents mayactually alter the wavelength and intensity oflight the animals receive, especially if thecages are equipped with filter caps.
12.2.3.1 Incandescent light source
Incandescent light emitted from a standardlight bulb with a glowing filament has anemphasis on red or longer wavelengths of thevisible spectrum. Although not ideal, this willprovide adequate illumination.
12.2.3.2 Fluorescent light source
Fluorescent light, emitted by electrically-charged ionized vapor, approaches sunlightmore closely than incandescent light withincreased emphasis on the violet or shorterwavelengths of the visible spectrum.
Biologically-balanced fluorescent lighting isnow available that contains wavelengths inthe ultraviolet range. Both rats and hamstershave been shown to do better under thesewide spectrum lights, and therefore, biologi-cally-balanced lights are recommended whenusing fluorescent fixtures.
The level of illumination in fluorescent lightsdeteriorates with the life of the tubes. It may
therefore be necessary toinstall lighting at thehigher end of the thresh-old and allow it to deterio-rate to the lower range.However, the appropriate-ness of this approach willdepend upon the type ofinvestigation taking place.For example, where 325lux is required at onemetre high at room centre,initial levels at installationmay have to be closer to 400 lux, which is unac-ceptable, particularly foralbino rats. A possiblesolution is a more frequentchange of lower inten-sity tubes or the use of adiffuser.Diagram 24: Light mounting for interstitial space servicing
12.2.3.3 Quartz halogen light source
Quartz halogen light sources provide goodillumination; however, they produce a signifi-cant load on the heat gain in the room whichneeds to be effectively dissipated. They canbe useful in simulating the crepuscular peri-ods because of their sensitivity to rheostatcontrol.
12.2.3.4 Light emitting diodes
Recent work has demonstrated that lightemitting diode (LED) illumination comparesfavorably in its biological effects with themore common sources of lighting previouslymentioned. It has been deemed safe for usewith laboratory rats (Heeke et al., 1999). Sincethe rat has been regarded as the most suscep-tible laboratory animal to phototoxic retinopa-thy, this provides a good indication of the ele-ment of safety at levels of illumination equiv-alent to other sources (Heeke et al., 1999).
The advantages of light emitting diodes arethat they: are inexpensive to install and main-tain (energy efficient); are solid state; have along life; have a wide range of spectral con-trol; produce low heat; and have a mechanicalsize advantage.
12.2.3.5 Light tubes
In order to achieve an even distribution oflight in animal rooms, the location and spac-ing of the light fixtures is a critical componentof planning and design. More precisely, thepoints of origin of the light need to be spa-tially arranged and laid out in the 'reflectedceiling plan'. In many cases, this requiresaccess into the animal room to change tubesor bulbs in the fixtures. It is possible to avoidthis where interstitial space exists, so that theactual light source can be positioned above anintegral transparent panel in the ceiling andbe accessible from above.
Light tubes are a new alternative to provideeven light distribution in spaces such as ani-mal rooms, where the actual source of lightcan be positioned outside the space, facilitat-ing servicing by plant maintenance staff. The
source is at one end of a tube that is designedto distribute even illumination along itslength. The technology permits high inacces-sible spaces (e.g., large atria) to be evenly illu-minated from easily accessed light emittingsources. The units can be used horizontally orvertically.
Currently, the lamps used are metal halide,and these generate significant levels of heat aswell as light. However, LED sources may beintegrated in the future, which will render thesystem very adaptable and economical tooperate.
The technology offers significant advantages inilluminating restricted access areas, such asbiocontainment suites, and also in renovatingareas with very limited floor-to-floor distances.
12.3 Heating, ventilation and airconditioning (HVAC)
Cage-top filters were introduced into staticisolator systems in the 1980s, enabling bettercontrol of cage-to-cage disease transmission.Unfortunately, this type of system creates anequally effective barrier between the cagemicroenvironment and the macroenviron-ment of the animal room. For example, therelative humidity (RH) may be increased inthe static isolator system by as much as 38%over the room RH; ammonia levels may reach350 ppm in 7 days (depending on factors suchas type of bedding and cage stocking density);and microenvironmental carbon dioxide lev-els can reach 4000 ppm higher than themacroenvironment of the room.
The problems posed by the static isolator sys-tems are now being addressed by steadyreplacement with isolator systems in whicheach cage is individually ventilated. There-fore, it is no longer useful to specify environ-mental parameters, frequency of air changes,etc., without specifying the type of equipmentto be used for primary containment. This mayvary considerably between and amongspecies. The impact of the overall HVAC sys-tem must be evaluated at the cage level.
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Guideline 87:
The heating, ventilation and air condition-ing (HVAC) system(s) should provide ahealthy and comfortable environment forthe animals and for personnel working inthe facility. The system(s) should also becapable of regulating the environmentwithin minimally variable set limits in orderto supply a consistently stable environ-ment that will not contribute significantlyto experimental variability. This includesthe uniformly consistent supply of qualityair to all microenvironmental units within aroom.
The HVAC system should supply clean air atspecific temperatures and humidity to theanimals housed within a room and exhaust allcontaminated air. It is common to try to con-trol environmental parameters at the roomlevel (macroenvironment); however, the realconcern should be at the cage level (microen-vironment) where the animal is housed. Themovement, and hence quality, of air in themicroenvironment will be affected by suchthings as distribution of air in the room, loca-tion of the cage within the room, cage design,rack or shelf conformation, species held, bed-ding type, use of biosafety cabinets, equip-ment, motors, etc.
Guideline 88:
HVAC systems in laboratory animal facili-ties must operate continuously 24 hoursper day, year round.
Because so much in the animal facilitydepends upon the continuous operation ofthe HVAC system, adequate redundancy iscritical (see Section 13. Redundancy). Ade-quate redundancy may vary considerablydepending on the requirements of specificzones within the animal facility. Generally, allconventional animal holding space should besupplied with at least 50% of its normal airturnover during short cutback periods of lessthan 12 hours. It is critical that differentialpressures be maintained for inclusion and
exclusion zones. Duplication of fans and analternative electrical power source to main-tain operation of the balanced system to anappropriate level is mandatory. Containmentfacilities will require exhaust fan redundancy(see AAFC, Containment Standards for Veteri-nary Facilities, http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/sci/lab/convet/convete.shtml). TheHVAC systems for animal research facilitiesare therefore very expensive and may com-prise 40% or more of the total constructioncosts.
12.3.1 Temperature
Guideline 89:
The temperature of each animal roomshould be controllable within ±1°C.
The most common method of controlling tem-perature is by bringing cooler air to the roomlevel (i.e. 12 to 14°C). The air for each indi-vidual room is brought to the preselected tem-perature by means of a reheat coil immedi-ately before it is distributed to the room. Thereheat system is controlled by monitoring thetemperature of the air as it leaves the room,which constitutes the sum total of the heat ofthe air supplied plus heat gain in the roomfrom animals and equipment motors (e.g., fanmotors on ventilated racks and in biosafetycabinets). It is important to note that reheatcoils supplied from manufacturers are set tofail 'on'; however, in animal facilities theymust be set to fail in the 'off' position.
Windows to the exterior make temperaturecontrol difficult. Severe cold exterior temper-atures in winter and warm summer weathercreate temperature gradients within spacesdue to conduction and convection that are dif-ficult, if not impossible, to deal with evenlythroughout the room. In addition, animals inthe room may absorb or lose considerableamounts of heat by radiation, depending ontheir location relative to the window. There-fore, windows are generally not incorporatedinto animal holding rooms.
The type of caging and bedding will alsoaffect the animal's ability to influence its ownenvironment. For example, animals in stain-
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less steel cages with non-contact bedding willusually require room temperatures severaldegrees higher than those in plastic cageswith contact bedding, due to differences ininsulation and air movement within the cage.
Guideline 90:
The temperature of each room should becontrolled separately.
The approximate heat production of variousspecies is given in Appendix F. The variationin heat production by different species andnumbers of animals emphasizes the need forindividual animal room temperature controlwherever possible.
12.3.2 Relative humidity
Guideline 91:
Relative humidity should be maintainedbetween 40% and 60%, depending on thespecies, and controlled to ± 5%.
The relative humidity may be controlled atthe suite level, rather than on a room-to-roombasis. Most animals do well at 40 to 60% rela-tive humidity, but not less than 35% or greaterthan 70%. The relative humidity should bekept consistent (± 5%). In Canada, buildinghumidity may cause moisture problems anddamage to the building structure due to con-densation on colder external walls in the win-ter months. Therefore, animal housing facili-ties must be extremely well insulated and/orall animal holding rooms may be located inthe core of the facility, surrounded by a corri-dor or service areas with one outside wall andlower humidity levels.
12.3.3 Fresh air
Guideline 92:
Animal facilities should be supplied with100% fresh air. Air should not be recircu-lated within the facility.
Good quality air should be available to all ani-mals at all times. The facility fresh air intake
should be located to ensure that exhaust airfrom the facility or from adjacent buildings isnot drawn back into the facility. It is stronglyrecommended that the positioning of thefresh air intake and its relative position to thefacility exhaust and surrounding structures besubjected to fluid dynamic studies. In somecases, sufficient information may be obtainedfrom computational fluid dynamics. How-ever, in other projects it may be necessary tohave wind tunnel tests performed on topo-graphical scale models of the site with thefacility proposed air intakes and exhausts indifferent locations and the surrounding build-ings located accordingly. The costs of thesestudies relative to the overall design and con-struction costs is small, and their contributionto effective and safe function in all meteoro-logical conditions far outweighs the expense.
Each building has a cloak of air, known as thebuilding envelope, that interfaces physicallywith the structure to the extent that it does notfollow the movement patterns of air furtheraway from the building. Contaminants re-leased into this building envelope maymigrate to other points on the surface of thebuilding, for example, an office window, adoor, or the air intake for the animal facility.Fluid dynamic studies will guide good designfeatures to minimize contaminant intake.
All fresh air is filtered into the facility toremove larger particulates. Where the qualityof the air is as 'fresh' as is available but notconsistently clean enough due to pollutants, itmay be necessary to use more sophisticatedfilters such as charcoal and HEPA filters. Thequality of air in high-density urban areasshould be evaluated and appropriate systemsshould be incorporated.
For economical and environmental reasons, itis best to reclaim as much energy as possiblefrom the relatively large volumes of exhaustair vented from the facility. A system of heatreclamation compatible with the overalldesign of the HVAC system is recommended.
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Guideline 93:
There should be no possibility within thesystem for cross-contamination of freshair with exhaust air.
12.3.4 Air exhaust
Guideline 94:
Air must be exhausted efficiently so thatthe contaminants in the facility environ-ment do not accumulate beyond accept-able levels.
Guideline 95:
Exhaust ducts should be fitted with filtersat the room level to reduce the accumula-tion of particulate matter in the duct. Allexhaust ducts should be tightly sealed.
Animals contribute carbon dioxide, moisture,ammonia (from urea) and allergens to the air.This contaminated air must be efficientlyremoved from the room so that it does not accumulate in the microenvironment of the animal cage. The air exhaust systemshould be designed with eas-ily changeable filters (30%pleated) on every exhaustgrille within each room toremove all gross particulatematter, such as animal dan-der, bedding dust, etc. (seeDiagram 25). In rooms de-signed to quarantine animalsor contain biohazards, moreefficient filters should beused, such as HEPA filters.The exhaust system shouldbe tightly sealed to eliminatethe potential for contaminat-ing other areas. The externalbuilding exhausts should be located so that air ex-hausted will not enter otherintakes. A local air distribu-tion study at the buildingsite is recommended.
12.3.5 Air exchange
Guideline 96:
The rate of air exchange within a roommust be such that clean, fresh air is avail-able to all animals and personnel at alltimes. For conventional animal holdingrooms, the HVAC system should be capa-ble of supplying and exhausting 15 to 20air exchanges per hour.
In order to maintain potential air contami-nants below acceptable levels, it is recom-mended that there be 15 to 20 air exchangesper hour in a room. This recommendation,however, does not take into consideration theefficiency of air distribution, the number ofanimals held or how they are being held.While this recommendation may be effectivefor large numbers of animals housed in con-ventional caging with less than ideal air dis-tribution (most systems), the requirementmay be considerably higher for animalshoused in static filter top cage units or less inrooms where animals are housed in ventilatedcage units. Ideally, HVAC systems should bedesigned so that the number of air exchanges
Diagram 25: Exhaust filter detail
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can be altered according to how the room isbeing used; however, increased flexibilitymust be weighed against the potential for airbalancing problems.
12.3.6 Differential pressure
Guideline 97:
Differential pressures can be used to cre-ate an air barrier between two areas orzones of a facility. Differential pressuresbetween areas of an animal facility shouldbe set so that air flows from the cleanerareas of the animal facility to the dirtier orpotentially contaminated areas.
Differential pressures between rooms and cor-ridors are used to control the movement of airand eliminate a potential source of cross-con-tamination. Generally, clean areas are kept ata positive pressure relative to dirty areas (i.e.clean animals, clean side of cage washer, foodand bedding storage, surgery, etc. should beat a higher relative pressure than dirty ani-mals, quarantine, necropsy, dirty side of cagewasher, waste storage, etc.). Those areas need-ing to be kept clean (exclusion), such as hold-ing rooms for specific pathogen-free (SPF)animals, should be under positive pressure;whereas, those areas where air movementoutwards needs to be limited (inclusion), suchas biohazard areas, should be negative.
Where greater control of pressure differentialsis desirable, anterooms are effective. They cre-ate an air barrier between the holding roomand the corridor. It is common to set differen-tial pressures in suites for exclusion to have acascade effect, such that the air pressuredecreases as one goes from the holding roomto the anteroom, to the corridor, and then tothe outside of the suite (see Diagram 26). Thereverse cascade effect is often used for inclu-sion, such that the holding room is the mostnegative.
The cascade system of differential pressuresassumes that specific animals are clean ordirty and will always remain that way. Inactual fact, many disease research experi-
ments require the use of clean animals that areintentionally infected with disease organisms,and there is also the possibility of clean ani-mals becoming infected unintentionally.Therefore, in many cases, it is beneficial toconsider a system that offers both inclusionand exclusion at the same time. Such a sys-tem may be established by supplying clean airto an anteroom at a pressure greater than thatof both the holding room and the corridor (seeDiagram 27). With proper management, thepositive pressure anteroom should provide aneffective way of establishing an exclusion bar-rier, an inclusion barrier and a combinedinclusion/exclusion barrier.
In order to maintain differential pressures,doors must be closed and the time that thedoors remain open should be minimized. Inorder for anterooms to be effective barriers,only one door of an anteroom should beopened at a time; otherwise both differentialpressures are eliminated, thus destroying amajor function of the anteroom. It is essential
Diagram 26: Differential pressure — cascade effect
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to have well-sealed rooms in order for differ-ential pressurization to work.
Differential pressurization is very difficult tocontrol directly and it is recommended thatpressures be controlled by volumetric offset(recommended by the American NationalStandards Institute). This implies that roompressures are set through controlling the vol-ume of air taken in versus the volumeexhausted. For example, to achieve a positivepressure in a room relative to a corridor, aircould be blown into the room at 500 cubic feetper minute (CFM) and exhausted at 400 CFM.Assuming the room is well sealed, the excess100 CFM would be forced out into the corri-dor through small cracks around the perime-ter of the door.
12.3.7 Air distribution
Guideline 98:
Air distribution within a room must besuch that clean, fresh air is available to allanimals and personnel at all times.
Provision of good quality air requires well-distributed movement of air within the roomwithout causing drafts on the animals that
may affect their ability to maintain body tem-perature. Diagrams 28a) and 28b) show twopossible set-ups of room air intake andexhaust that have worked well in past appli-cations. The air capture and containment sys-tem (see Diagram 28b) is reported to be themost versatile method of air supply andexhaust. The airflows 'wash' the air out of theroom thoroughly and exhaust it in whatappears to be virtually a one-pass system. Thesystem uses four-way air diffusers on theunderside of a central longitudinal ceiling sof-fit. This creates a capture hood effect on eitherside of the soffit. The exhaust registers arelocated on each side of the soffit. Limitedpractical experience to date has indicated thatthe air capture and containment system isboth effective and versatile. It is also cost-effective to install.
Conventional wisdom for many years recom-mended high-level (ceiling) supply of freshair and low level returns placed in the cornersof the room (see Diagram 28c). Recent studiesat the US National Institutes of Health haveindicated that this configuration works wellin rooms using static microisolator cages.
A goal of the ventilation system should be tominimize the concentration of allergens in theenvironment. Laboratory animal allergens arenot readily removed with traditional animalroom ventilation. The standard 15 to 20 airchanges per hour delivered and removed byconventional methods (not laminar flow ormass air displacement systems) serve to keepthe most hazardous allergen-bearing particlesbetween 5 to 10 nm evenly suspended anddistributed. Swanson et al. (1990) demon-strated that rats produce allergens at a highrate, and it was estimated that 125 air changesper hour would be required to effectively con-trol airborne rat allergens, which is beyondthe capability of conventional ventilation sys-tems. In order to effectively control allergens,a system of mass air displacement or nega-tively-ventilated cages should be used.
Mass air displacement systems are effective inreducing airborne allergens (see Diagram28d) and can provide 100 to 150 air changesper hour draft-free. In this system, 90% of the
Diagram 27: Differential pressure — airbarrier effect
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Diagram 28a): One-sided intake andexhaust
Diagram 28b): Central intake and exhaust Diagram 28d): Mass air displacement
Diagram 28c): High intake/low exhaust
exhaust air from the room is mixed with 10%fresh air and then passed through activatedcarbon and HEPA filters (99.97% efficient forparticles of 0.3 µm or less) before being rede-livered to the same room. The air is deliveredthrough small apertures over the entire sur-face of the ceiling so that the overall room airmovement is not noticeable and is laminar inits distribution (see Diagram 28d). These sys-tems are costly and their use in animal facili-ties is usually limited to portable units used toestablish small confined clean environmentsfor small numbers of animals, or to establish asterile surgery station in an otherwise dirtyenvironment, such as a research laboratory.
Free-standing recirculating HEPA filter unitshave a high air turnover rate. They act rap-idly and can be used effectively to reduce air-borne particle burdens, including allergeniccontaminants. Portable units are very usefulin areas such as surgical suites or for estab-lishing cleaner environments in otherwisedirty areas, such as conventional animal unitsor research laboratories.
When designing new air distribution systemsand/or new room configurations, it is recom-mended that the air distribution within theroom be tested using room mock-ups withequipment in place prior to construction.Computational fluid dynamics has nowdeveloped to a point where air movementwithin the animal room and thermal dynam-ics can be predicted and visualized. The pro-grams facilitate the study of different cagerack or pen configurations.
12.3.8 Ventilated cage racks
Ventilated cage racks are being used moreoften in animal facilities to protect the animalsfrom disease, supply better quality air,improve the animal environment and reducehuman exposure to allergens. Ventilated racksmay have a significant impact on the designand use of the HVAC system. There are sev-eral ways that ventilated racks can be incor-porated into a facility and each has differentimplications on design of the HVAC system.
A positive pressure ventilated rack (see Dia-gram 29) is used to protect the animals within(i.e. exclusion). Room air is drawn through aHEPA filter and then blown through plenumsinto filter top cages (see Diagram 30). Exhaustfrom the cage escapes through the filter topand around the edges of the cage-top inter-face. The motor on each rack, as well as theanimals, will contribute heat to the room.Exhaust air should be free of most particulatematter, but will usually have considerableodor and other contaminants; hence frequentroom air exchanges remain critical.
A negative pressure rack (see Diagram 31) isused to protect the environment outside thecage from contaminants and potential aller-gens (i.e. inclusion). Negative pressure is cre-ated by forcibly exhausting the air, either by aportable exhaust motor with HEPA filterand/or by connection to the room exhaust.The movement of air at the cage level is illus-trated in Diagram 32. The portable motorshould give good control over the rate ofexhaust and the HEPA filter should removeparticulate matter, including allergens. Un-
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Diagram 29: Ventilated rack — positivepressure
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less it is connected to the room exhaust airduct, however, the system will contributeodors, animal heat and motor heat to theroom, necessitating frequent air exchanges.
The use of two independent motors for sup-ply and exhaust on ventilated racks (see Dia-gram 33) will allow the cages to be main-tained at negative or positive pressure, pro-vided the supply and exhaust is directly con-nected to each cage. Another variation of thissystem involves the scavenging of exhaust airfrom around the cage rather than fromdirectly within (see Diagram 34). In this typeof unit, the cage is kept at a positive pressurewhile the area surrounding the cage is keptstrongly negative, thus giving both an inclu-sion and exclusion system if designed effi-ciently. Both the intake and exhaust air ofthese units are HEPA filtered. The heat gener-ated by two motors per rack, as well as animalheat and some animal odors, is released intothe room, thus increasing the room ventila-tion requirements. The room ventilationrequirements can be reduced significantly byattaching the rack exhaust to the roomexhaust, or better still, to a dedicated exhaust.
Another type of ventilated rack is a negativepressure rack for both inclusion and exclusionthat is solely dependent on the buildingexhaust for removing air. The air is filteredinto tightly-sealed cages via polyester filtersand exhausted by connecting the rack directlyto the room exhaust. The lack of motors inthese units means quieter running systemswithout the additional motor heat. The fact
that they are directly con-nected to the exhaust sys-tem means that heat andpollutants generated bythe animals are exhaustedoutside the room. Thisshould reduce the need forhigh room air exchanges.
If a room is supplied withHEPA filtered air at posi-tive pressure to the cages,a negative pressure rackwill function effectively asboth an inclusion and
exclusion barrier. This is the recommendedset-up to provide maximum flexibility andsafety for both the animals and the users.This relies on the assumption that effectivebiosecure room entry and exit SOPs are inplace and that a biosafety cabinet will be usedfor all animal manipulations.
The fan motors operating the supply andHEPA filtered exhaust systems on ventilatedracks may create noise and vibration that seri-
Diagram 30: Ventilated cage — positive pressure
Diagram 31: Ventilated rack — negativepressure
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ously disturb the animals. Some manufactur-ers have these units wall-mounted and setunderneath or beside the rack to attenuateboth noise and vibration.
Ventilated cage racks have been useful whenretrofitting older facilities. They increase theanimal holding capacity per room and canreduce the frequency of cage changes. Nega-tive pressure ventilated racks are becomingmore important for the effective managementof laboratory animal allergens (see Section12.3.7 Air distribution). For this reason alone,all new facilities involved in the care and useof small rodents, particularly in large num-bers, should seriously consider the incorpora-tion of ventilated cage racks in their designprocess.
13. Redundancy
Guideline 99:
HVAC systems should be designed to provide adequate air exchange and main-tain critical air differential pressures dur-ing mechanical breakdowns and poweroutages.
Guideline 100:
All animal facilities must have an emer-gency electrical supply capable of main-taining at least some of the functions ofthe HVAC system and essential services.
The maintenance ofair pressure differen-tials is essential, espe-cially in inclusion orexclusion situations,in order to contain abiohazardous risk andprotect extremely valu-able animal researchstock from contamina-tion. Critical areasshould be identifiedand HVAC systemsbuilt accordingly, with
appropriate controls and monitoring systems.
Fresh air at the appropriate temperature mustbe available 24 hours per day, year round. Theanimal facility should be divided-up into var-ious functional areas and separate HVAC sys-tems designed for each. For example, sepa-rate HVAC systems could supply the animalrooms, the surgical suite, personnel areas andeach biocontainment area.
There should be more than one supply andexhaust fan to all of the above areas, with the
Diagram 32: Ventilated cage — negative pressure
Diagram 33: Ventilated rack — positive/negative pressure
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possible exception of areas for human occu-pancy. The total maximum capacity requiredfor each area may be divided by the numberof supply and exhaust fans to be installed.Ideally, if two complementary fans are to beinstalled, each should be capable of supplying100% of the total required capacity during anoutage of the other fan. Normally, the fansshould be used at 50% of their total capacity,with the anticipation that outage times will beless than 12 hours. The supply and exhaustfans should also be sized and controlled sothat differential pressures between criticalareas are maintained during the failure of afan. In containment facilities, an exhaust fanmust be functional and capable of maintain-ing the containment facility at a negative dif-ferential pressure at all times (AAFC, Contain-ment Standards for Veterinary Facilities,http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/sci/lab/convet/convete.shtml).
Backup chillers and heat exchangers shouldalso be installed. It is recommended that theybe individually sized to meet maximumrequirements independently, and then thatthey each be run at 50% capacity. This willallow one unit to meet all requirements whilethe other is being repaired or maintained. Anexample of a dual parallel HVAC system isgiven in Diagram 35.
Generator capacity to operate the animal facil-ity at normal levels during grid failures is rec-ommended. If this is not possible, then powermust be available to maintain the HVAC sys-tem, emergency lighting and other criticalequipment, such as surgical lights and lifemonitors. Continuous operation withoutcompromising the health and welfare of theanimals is fundamental to the commitment tothe best principles of animal care and the pro-tection of the research programs.
Diagram 34: Ventilated cage with scavenging system
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Diagram 35: Dual HVAC system
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Animal facilities built to appropriate architec-tural and engineering standards are expen-sive to build. The finished structure shouldreflect both the present and, as far as possible,the future needs of the research community.In addition, the structure should be integratedinto a cohesive design in which the animalcare staff and the physical plant maintenancepersonnel can each perform optimally. Thecollective outcome must be an enhancedresearch environment and the uninterruptedfacilitation of excellent animal care practices.
The considerable size of capital investmentrequired is such that every effort must bemade to ensure that planning, programmingand design are not flawed.
Ensuring a satisfactory result involves theinput of many people. It also requires profes-sionally-guided acquisition and integration ofthe information which will drive the pro-gramming, design and ensuing constructionto an ultimately successful conclusion.
The process may be broken down into fourbasic stages:
1. Programming
2. Design
3. Construction and commissioning
4. Occupancy and operation
1. ProgrammingThis is arguably the most important stage inplanning an animal facility. A comprehensiveprogram must be developed before an inte-grated layout of the facility components andfixed equipment can be attempted.
The program will form the basis of instruc-tions and guidelines for the architect andengineer to develop detailed designs. Follow-ing the clear identification of need, as out-
lined above, the next step is the preparation ofdetailed space data sheets combined withspace relationship diagrams. This is oftenreferred to as a 'detailed space program'. Itshould also take into consideration budgetconstraints.
The programmers have fundamental tasks tocomplete in order to prepare a detailed spaceprogram. These are to:
a) develop a clear mission statement (pur-pose) and define the goals and objectivesof this project. These goals and objectivesmust be fully supported (if not defined) bysenior administration;
b) define the functions required to meet thesegoals and objectives (including the numberand type of staff, research animals, and bio-logical, chemical and radioactive agents).The functions must be defined by experi-enced research and technical staff, underthe control of senior management, to avoidthe 'excess wish list syndrome'. Futurerequirements must also be addressed sothat the facility offers adequate space for areasonable number of years. Researchersshould be required to prioritize these needsto keep the project cost-effective;
c) identify all criteria (budget, regulations,guidelines, by-laws, etc.) that may have animpact on the project;
d) define the space requirements needed to accommodate the present and futurefunctions and occupants (including serv-ices and equipment). Space requirementsshould be defined by experienced plan-ners and should be tested by comparisonsto similar existing functional use spaces toensure adequacy and efficiency. Thisapplies to services and equipment as well;
e) develop detailed space data sheets thatinclude the design requirements for eachidentified space. This information includes:
D. THE PROCESS FOR THE PLANNING, DESIGN ANDDEVELOPMENT OF A LABORATORY ANIMAL FACILITY
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• functional description;
• dimension requirements;
• finishes and hardware;
• furniture and equipment;
• plumbing, heating, ventilation and airconditioning;
• lighting, power and communication; and
• equipment and accessories, etc.;
f) define required functional adjacencies bygraphically linking the various compo-nents of the animal facility together;
g) co-ordinate and document the definitionsand information in a report that can beused to develop a preliminary scheduleand cost estimate. This is an extremelyimportant document that is often used tosell the project to senior administration orfunding agencies; and
h) develop a budget.
Once these tasks are understood, it is impor-tant to make sure that the team members arecapable and experienced in these areas. Atleast one key person from this team (prefer-ably an end user) should continue on as a par-ticipant in all the other stages to maintain con-tinuity. The following individuals should beconsulted and, in most cases, play an activerole in the planning phase:
a) the senior administrators directly involvedwith the project. These people control thebudget and make all major financial deci-sions. They are involved in prioritizationthroughout the institution and know theanimal facility's status in this context;
b) the institutional directors of planning,facilities, etc. They oversee the emergingneed for compatibility with institutionalpolicies and objectives as the programdevelops. They will retain the appropriatearchitectural and engineering consultantsfor the project. The planning office willusually convene all the fact-finding activi-ties from the very beginning;
c) the investigators who are using, or intendto use, animals (their major input will bedealt with in more detail below);
d) research department heads with an overallview of the direction and emphasis of theresearch program and of future needs;
e) the research technicians who will be usinganimals in the facility;
f) the facility director as the principal advisoron compliance with animal care, care anduse guidelines and regulations, and labo-ratory animal science issues, and as theprincipal manager of the facility and thepersonnel who will operate it;
g) the laboratory animal veterinarian(s) forapplication of sound principles of labora-tory animal science and medicine;
h) the laboratory animal technicians who willbe responsible for operating the proposednew facility and who will have invaluableinput into appropriate ergonomics andequipment utilization;
i) plant maintenance supervisors who are responsible on-site for keeping thefacility fully operational, electrically andmechanically;
j) occupational health and safety advisorsand compliance officers for radiationsafety, biosafety, etc. The criteria for safetyguidelines must be present from the verybeginning; and
k) a security officer who is familiar with theinstitutional security requirements and theunique requirements of animal facilities.
Although the tasks involved in a detailedspace program appear to be straightforward,it is preferable to engage the services of anexperienced programmer (architect or engi-neer) at this stage, unless the project is rela-tively simple. Animal care facilities are notcommon and the regulations and technologyare changing rapidly; therefore, it is often dif-ficult to find local consultants who are experi-enced with current animal care requirements.
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If the institution has knowledgeable userswho are experienced with the design process,local consultants may be engaged and edu-cated to understand the peculiarities of ani-mal care facilities. Consultants with extensivemedical care or research facility experienceusually adapt to these peculiarities quickly. If there is no access to in-house experience, it is wise to engage an experienced animalcare consultant to prepare the program. Theprogram team should be encouraged to chal-lenge all preconceived notions of the usersand examine alternative approaches to pro-viding the most flexible and effective pro-gram criteria.
1.1 Information gathering andcommunication
All relevant information should be collectedand matched until the influence of each com-ponent of responsibility has been integratedinto a statement of specific requirements.
1.1.1 The interview process
What is involved? Institutional representa-tives such as the director of laboratory animalresources and key managers, together withthe director of planning or a designate, shouldmeet with all of the investigators or groups ofinvestigators and determine the future needs.A similar meeting should occur with the com-pliance and safety officers and physical plantsupervisors. The programming consultant(s)should be familiar with the goals of the inter-views and should be able to facilitate thisstage of the process.
Why are the interviews conducted? The inter-views with the principal investigators andtheir research teams are not only critical forextracting data relevant to project size andscope, but also for determining physical sup-port for optimal performance. The currentnumbers of animals, rooms, cage types, etc.should be available from current inventory.Future projections can be sought by verbalcommunication and written forms. However,additional information from the respectiveindividuals and research teams must besought. During personal interviews, the fol-
lowing questions may assist in eliciting pro-ductive discussion:
• What does your research involve?
• Where does animal use fit into the big pic-ture? Will the level of animal use increaseor decrease?
• How do you do your animal work? (Thisrelates to the physical activities.) Howmight your work be better facilitated?
• In which places do you currently performthe work? What is good about and/orwhat is not good about these areas?
• What movement of personnel and animalsis involved?
As the questions are dealt with, discussionshould be encouraged on current concernsand problems, and obvious improvements.The discussions should be of a 'brainstorming'format. All information is relevant and mustbe recorded, even when it does not appear tohave any immediate impact. For example, aninvestigator casually mentioned that someold silos had proven really valuable for thecreation of simulated natural environmentsfor certain critical experiments with wildlife.At the time, he was already readjusting hisresearch priorities around a bright new ani-mal facility with standard animal rooms inwhich he had been told this would no longerbe possible. The notes on his comment werethe seeds of what subsequently became a fewspecially-designed and constructed animalrooms of great versatility called the 'simu-lated natural environment suite'. This unithad all the desirable features of the old silo,but with many essential and desirable fea-tures added to meet contemporary standards.
1.1.2 Gathering existing information
In an institution where animal research isongoing, information should be available toestablish the current size and scope of theoperation. For example, answers to thesequestions should be available:
a) How many mice, rats, rabbits, guinea pigs,etc. are held at one time (maximum)?
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b) How many of each of the above are spe-cific pathogen-free (SPF), viral antibody-free (VAF), conventional, etc.?
c) How many animals and what type aremaintained in Biocontainment Level 3 atone time?
d) What forms of barriers or sequestration arecurrently being used?
There is a need to know how the animals ineach particular situation are housed (e.g.,singly, in pairs, triads, groups of four, etc.)and from this, the numbers of cages, etc.needed can be estimated. It is then possible tocompute an estimate of the number and typeof cage racks, pens, tanks and runs needed inthe different zones of the animal facility, suchas biocontainment, disease-free rodent barrierarea, SPF beagles, hagfish, frogs, etc.
Decisions related to the degree of separationof groups of animals are among the most dif-ficult. For example, in older facilities, five, six,or more investigators may share a mouseroom. How do they really feel about this?How does the laboratory animal veterinarianview this? How do the laboratory animaltechnicians see this working in relation totheir obligations to each investigator? Are lotsof small spaces going to be more valuablethan fewer larger rooms? Can adequatesequestration be accommodated by the newerindividually-ventilated cage systems?
1.1.3 Incorporating new ideas
Planning a new facility presents an opportu-nity to re-evaluate how each facet of the oper-ation ought to be done in light of currentknowledge in epidemiology and disease con-trol, environmental factors, housing methodsand environmental enrichment, improvedhygiene standards, upgraded radiation safetyand biocontainment requirements, more des-ignated procedural areas, etc. Meeting moresophisticated requirements and providinggreater versatility is a challenge, but also anopportunity to build a facility that comple-ments the performance of exemplary con-temporary practice. Meeting this challengerequires thoroughness in the informationgathering process.
1.2 Estimating the size andscope of project
In proposed units where only a few investiga-tors will be involved, each of whom have pre-dictable and fairly constant needs, it is rela-tively straightforward to determine the typeof animal rooms, ancillary spaces and grossarea required. As the number of investigatorsincreases, the complexity of programmingincreases exponentially, and estimating thesize and scope of an animal facility solely onthe basis of individually-perceived needs canlead to large overestimations, especially ifneeds fluctuate. However, the growth of theinstitution and the needs of any researcherswho will be recruited in the future also needto be considered. This is where experiencewith user requirements is extremely impor-tant. The 'wish list' must be given a realitycheck to eliminate those things that are notfeasible or may jeopardize the project becauseof budget. Duplication must be eliminatedand some services combined. This is anextremely important but often difficult andtedious task. Appendix D illustrates how theinterview data can be used to estimate the sizeand scope of the project. This information isthen incorporated into the plan.
1.2.1 Identify all criteria
All of the guidelines, rules and regulationsthat may affect the design of the laboratoryanimal facility must be incorporated into thedetailed space program. Therefore, the pro-gram team must be familiar with the criteriaoutlined in these guidelines, as well as localcodes and regulations. For example, therequired air temperatures, humidity, airexchanges, wall finishes, floors, etc. must beclearly specified for each space.
1.2.2 Ergonomic considerations
A clear understanding of the ergonomics ofthe general operation and maintenance of theanimal facility is essential for effective design.
Many tasks in animal facilities can be physi-cally demanding or expose workers to aller-gens and create the potential for work-relatedinjury. Common examples of this are:
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• lifting and moving cases of water bottles,particularly after they have been filled;
• handling and moving bags of food andbedding;
• handling bags containing soiled bedding;
• distributing clean cage racks and cages inthe facility;
• collecting soiled equipment and deliveringit to the dirty equipment staging;
• emptying the soiled contents of each cageprior to washing;
• distributing bedding into clean cages,manual or machine assisted; and
• repeated bending or stooping to accesscages on the lower shelves of cage racks,and stretching or using step-up devices toaccess higher shelves on cage racks.
Equipment is readily available commerciallyto help deal with many of the physical chal-lenges encountered in the animal facility.Examples of this are:
• automatic watering systems which virtu-ally replace the use of water bottles;
• hand-operated, electrically-powered hy-draulic dollies for movement of food andbedding bags;
• electrically-powered towing units for rackand cage movement;
• effective vacuum systems for removingsoiled bedding from dirty cages (withoutthe need to scrape or bang them) and forthe bulk collection of this material in con-tainers for subsequent removal by motorvehicle;
• robotic systems that effectively pick upand knock out soiled bedding from cagesprior to loading them on the tunnelwasher belt;
• robotic systems integrated with tunnelcage washers that collect and stack cleancages; and
• safe, ergonomically-designed mobile plat-forms and stools for sitting to facilitatework with higher and lower rodent cages.
1.2.2.1 The animal room layout
The introduction of ventilated isolator cagesystems (VCS) units enables larger numbersof rodents (particularly mice) to be housedwithin an animal room than ever before. Totake full advantage of the biosecurity affordedby VCS units, it is necessary to change cagesand manipulate animals in biosafety cabinets(BSC) or in mobile cage stations with BSCequivalency that are manufactured specifi-cally for the purpose. Where the number ofVCS units and cages in the room is high, theuse of the mobile change station is mandatoryfor efficiency and practicality. Since double-sided BSC units tend to be integral to theeffective utilization of space, the circulationpatterns of personnel and/or mobile equip-ment require careful attention.
In larger mouse rooms, great care should betaken to ensure that the servicing of the ani-mal room by animal care staff does not clashwith activities of the investigator's team. Forexample, animal care activities should befacilitated to the extent that they are efficientand not inordinately time consuming. Mani-pulation space for the investigator's teamshould be distinct from that of the animal carepersonnel.
The layout of the animal rooms, particularlywhere VCS units are involved, is therefore avital part of the planning and design process inwhich particular attention is paid to the effec-tive movement of animal care equipment in theroom and the various groups working there.
1.2.2.2 Modeling or mock-ups
The use of life-size mock-ups is recom-mended to examine the ergonomics of the ani-mal facility, particularly the animal rooms.This does not necessarily require the actualapparatus, but the dimensions must be pre-cise to enable personnel to act out the physicalaspects of the various tasks within a givenspace. Personnel location, task interaction andtraffic flow can be much better understoodand planned for when realistic scenarios areattempted. Staff interaction in this process isessential.
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1.2.3 Impact of management decisions
The potential use and management of a facil-ity contribute important criteria that shouldbe considered in the design. Management anddesign should go hand-in-hand and comple-ment each other. For example, if one assumesthat there will be separate personnel workingon the clean and dirty side of the cage washer,the area may be designed so it is very cum-bersome to pass between the clean and dirtysides. However, if it is known ahead of timethat only one person will be hired, then aclothes changing station and possibly ashower can be built between the two areas.Assuming all of the information regarding thepotential use of the facility has been collected,it should be possible to make some manage-ment decisions that will have a significantimpact on the design of the facility. Someexamples of management criteria that mayinfluence design are given in Table 1.
1.3 Integrating the program
1.3.1 Detailed space data sheets
The programming team combines the currentinformation with that collected in the inter-view process to identify the types and sizes ofspaces required. This information is com-
bined with the criteria above to developdetailed space data sheets that outline essen-tial requirements for each space (see Appen-dix B).
1.3.2 Functional relationships
In addition to the detailed space data sheets,the programming committee must identify allrequired functional relationships and trafficflow patterns between the various spaces (seeSection C.4. Functional Adjacencies and Sec-tion C.5. Traffic Flow Patterns). For example,the dirty side of a cagewash area should belocated such that there is good access to aloading dock for waste disposal. The requiredfunctional adjacencies are commonly de-picted with the use of bubble diagrams, suchas those shown in Diagrams 14 to 19.
1.3.3 Budget
Once the previous stages of the program havebeen completed, it should be possible toderive a fairly accurate estimate for the cost ofconstruction of the proposed facility. It is atthis point that the services of a professionalcost consultant (quantity surveyor) are re-quired. The cost of construction of similarfacilities may be useful in deriving rough esti-mates. If the estimate is greater than theamount budgeted for in the planning phase,then it is necessary to review the program in
Table 1: Influence of Management Criteria on Design
Management Criteria
Number of users
Number of staff
Qualifications of staff
Services offered
Quality of animals
Normal working hours
Designated clean and dirty areas
Possible influence on design
Security, number of holding rooms
Number and type of barriers between areas
Voluntary versus forced barriers
Procedures rooms (e.g., necropsy and surgery)
Procedures, air pressure control by room or area
Security systems, lighting
Barriers, number and location of corridors
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detail. The scope or size of the program willhave to be reduced if additional funds are notforthcoming, or alternatively, the programmay be divided into phases if there is a rea-sonable chance that further funding may beforthcoming in the future. It is irresponsibleto proceed to the design stage if the programis not within budget. It should also be remem-bered that changes are more costly furtherinto the design and/or construction stages.Therefore, it is essential that the program bewell prepared to meet the needs as closely aspossible within budget constraints.
The funds committed in the planning phasemust be divided up into a budget. The lineitems in a budget are additional criteria thatmust be incorporated into the program.
The total project costs are the sum of the fol-lowing items and make up the 'capital fund-ing budget':
a) Design fees: All costs involved in thedesign process, which include architec-tural and engineering planning, drawings,etc. This may include the cost of program-ming if it is under the same consultant. Ithas become more common, however, tohire one consultant for programming andsubsequently a different design consult-ant. In this case, the programming fee isdistinct from the design fee.
b) Administration fees: These are the fundsnecessary for:
• project management (from beginning toend); and
• commissioning of surveys, soil testing,fluid dynamic studies of air movementin building clusters, etc.
c) Construction costs: The major part is thecosts to construct the physical structure,including mechanical and electrical sys-tems; however, other construction costsmust also be noted.
d) Equipment: This is divided into:
• fixed — whether such things as cagewashers and autoclaves, etc. are in-
cluded in the construction costs shouldbe clarified at an early stage;
• movable — cage racks, carts, steamcleaners, pens, etc.;
• furniture — benches, cupboards, desks,etc.; and
• miscellaneous — items not covered inthe above three categories (e.g., an elec-tric tractor for pulling flat carts loadedwith cages and closed circuit TV for thegenetically modified animal suite).
Variability obviously exists from place toplace. It is very important to know howeach of the above categories is to befunded.
e) Commissioning costs: The funds requiredby the institution to get the facility up andrunning, which can be quite demandingwith animal facilities.
f) Moving and decanting costs: Moving-incosts occur in all types of projects, but thesituation is often complicated becauselarge numbers of animals of varying statusmay have to be moved. These animalscould be particularly vulnerable colonies,such as VAF, inbred, transgenic mice, orSPF beagles in a long-term reproductionstudy. The movement of these types of ani-mals has to be carried out with extremecare. It is very labor intensive, time con-suming and expensive, and may requirespecial equipment. Decanting is the by-product of renovation. In order to reno-vate, all of the colonies and functions haveto be moved elsewhere. When the renova-tion is complete, everything is moved backagain. This may involve moving animalsinto temporary quarters, such as trailers.It can be very expensive; moving costs aredouble (there and back again) and someinvestment in the temporary accommoda-tion may be necessary. When comparingtotal project costs for renovation versusnew construction, decanting costs maywell prove the equalizer. In certain cir-cumstances, new construction, although ithas had a higher per-square-metre cost
compared to renovation, has proven to besubstantially less expensive by the timedouble decanting and temporary accom-modation costs are included in the totalbudget. New construction also generallyprovides better space that can be used overa longer period.
g) Contingencies:
• estimation contingencies
• construction contingencies
There are inevitably unforeseen elementsin both of these. Funds must, therefore, bereserved to deal with these contingenciesas they arise so that the project is not com-promised as they occur.
h) Escalation: Construction costs, like every-thing else, are subject to inflation. The timelag between the onset of a project and itscompletion may be several years, depend-ing upon the size and urgency. Thus, thecost estimate for the proposed building isprepared at current prices and an escalatoror inflation factor is used to estimate whatthe proposed costs will be when the com-peting contractors submit their bids andthe price is finally fixed.
i) Value added taxes: Such taxes as the Cana-dian Goods and Service Tax (GST) must beaccounted for.
j) Financing costs and investment income:If money has to be borrowed, this has anegative impact. If money is received upfront, accrued interest until expenditurecan enhance the value. This factor may besubstantial.
1.3.4 Operating costs
Although the operating costs are not usuallypart of the capital funding budget, they areimportant criteria that should be consideredto ensure that an animal facility is not builtwhich cannot operate for financial reasons.Considering the useful life of a new animalfacility, it has been postulated that of the totalcosts over time to build and operate that facil-ity, 15 to 20% will be for design and construc-tion and 80 to 85% will be for its operation.
All aspects, such as utility costs to maintainenvironmental control, mechanical mainte-nance (e.g., filter exchanges), personnel coststo manage the facility properly within appro-priate operating procedures, costs to maintainsurfaces and equipment, and waste manage-ment costs should be identified and estimatedup-front.
Most significantly, it should be recognizedthat the manner in which individual elementswill ultimately be used and operated willhave a major financial impact on the yearlyoperational costs.
2. Design
2.1 Conceptual design
Once the program is complete, the architectand engineer should draw sketches to showthe relative positions of the various spaces. Itis important to leave the design to the archi-tect and engineer in order to take advantageof the experience of these professional ex-perts. They will often come up with designsand solutions that were not previously con-sidered and may be far superior. Changes tothe design before construction may berequested, but these should not constrain theingenuity of the design team. The initial con-ceptual sketches may be fairly rough dia-grams, such as that shown in Diagram 36.The conceptual designs are developed andchanged until they best meet the criteria forfunctional adjacencies and traffic flow pat-terns. There may also be other criteria thatmust be considered in the conceptual design,such as site restrictions, existing facilities,mechanical services, etc.
2.2 Preliminary floor plans
The conceptual design that best meets theprogram requirements is then turned into apreliminary floor plan with straight lines,such as that illustrated in Diagram 37. This isnot simply a process of changing the hand-drawn lines to straight lines. During this stageof design, the space sizes projected in thefunctional program become very relevant and
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are incorporated, where possible, into the pre-liminary floor plan. Various components ofthe animal facility are often designed sepa-rately, such as the cagewash area, surgeryfacility, suite of rooms, etc., and then incorpo-rated into the overall floor plan.
2.3 Graphic test
When the design team believes they have areasonable floor plan, it should undergo agraphic test. The design should pass this testbefore progressing to the next stage. This testinvolves evaluating the functionality of thedesign and asks the following questions:
• Are the traffic flow patterns correct andcan they be controlled as required?
• Can corridors, doorways, anterooms, etc.accommodate the people and equipmentthat will be passing through them? (It isrecommended that scale models of animalcage racks and other equipment be cut outof paper and moved through the floor planas it will be after construction.)
• Are the door swings logical and func-tional? Are doors and rooms designed tooptimize the space available?
• Are barriers located in appropriate loca-tions and can they be changed to alter thesize of barrier areas (flexible barriers)?
• Can the mechanical systems be accommo-dated so that they are accessible for servicing?
• Is the design such that future expansioncan be accommodated?
2.4 Mechanical systems
It is important to consider how the mechani-cal systems will fit into the overall design.They require considerable space, especiallywhen one considers the need for redundancy.It is also necessary that these systems beaccessible for servicing, preferably from out-side the facility, but at least from outside theanimal holding area. All HEPA filter unitsmust be recertified at least annually. Contain-ment facilities must be serviced from outsidethe containment barrier (see AAFC, Contain-ment Standards for Veterinary Facilities, 1996,http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/sci/lab/convet/convete.shtml). It is prudent todevelop a mock-up model of an animal hold-ing room to check the airflow distribution bythe proposed HVAC system, and to determinewhether the position of the air intake andexhaust provide good distribution of air whenracks and cages are present. If not, the systemshould be redesigned before building it intothe entire facility.
2.5 Detailed design
Once the graphic tests have met the requiredcriteria and the mechanical systems have beenchecked for effectiveness, the final blueprintsare developed, incorporating all the detailsrequired from the functional program. It isextremely important that care be taken indeveloping these detailed designs sincechanges beyond this stage can be extremelycostly.
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Diagram 36: Conceptual floor plan
3. ConstructionThe most important job of the design team atthis stage of the project is quality assurance. Itis highly recommended that, in addition tothe architects and engineers, at least one inter-nal quality assurance person be appointed(preferably one who will eventually be work-ing in the facility and is familiar with thequality requirements of an animal facility).The quality of materials used and the work-manship should be checked on a daily basis toensure they meet the program requirements.The quality and the materials specifiedshould be used. No substitution of materialsshould be permitted unless previouslyapproved. There should not be many designerrors; when they do occur, the earlier they
are detected and corrected, thecheaper it will be. Detailed costestimates of all changes shouldbe provided prior to initiatingthem since these are not usuallypart of the original contract andmay open an avenue for exorbi-tant charges.
4. CommissioningBecause of the complexity oflaboratory animal facilities, it isessential that the commission-ing process start during designand continue throughout theproject. Final acceptance of thenewly constructed facilityentails assurance that all archi-tectural and engineering speci-fications have been met. Thisinvolves testing everything inthe facility to ensure that itmeets the program require-ments. A detailed commission-ing list should be made from theprogram and detailed design. Itshould include testing andchecking: the resistance offloors and walls to chemicals;the temperature, humidity andair distribution in each room;room air pressures; the func-
tioning of redundant and emergency systems;the temperature and cycles of cage washersand autoclaves; etc. Acceptance should notoccur until all deficiencies have been cor-rected or an agreeable plan instituted to rec-tify them. In particular, it may be difficult toget construction companies to take responsi-bility for deficiencies that are discovered afteroccupancy. Many institutions have had tospend considerable amounts of money tomake a facility functional after occupancy.Thorough commissioning during the con-struction phase and prior to final acceptanceshould alleviate many of these problems. Thesuccess of final commissioning is dependenton earlier confirmation that all design specifi-cations are correct.
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Diagram 37: Preliminary floor plan
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Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)(1996) Containment Standards for VeterinaryFacilities. 71pp. Ottawa ON: Government ofCanada. Available at http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/sci/lab/convet/convete.shtml
Bellhorn R.W. (1980) Lighting in the animalenvironment. Laboratory Animal Science 30(2):440-450.
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Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC)(1993) Guide to the Care and Use of ExperimentalAnimals, vol. 1, 2nd ed. 212pp. Ottawa ON:CCAC. Available at http://www.ccac.ca/english/gui_pol/guframe.htm
Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC)(2003) CCAC guidelines on: the care and use of wildlife. Ottawa ON: CCAC. Available at http://www.ccac.ca/english/gui_pol/guframe.htm
Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC)(in preparation) CCAC guidelines on: the careand use of fish in research, teaching and testing.Ottawa ON: CCAC.
Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC)(in preparation) CCAC guidelines on: the careand use of farm animals in research, teaching andtesting. Ottawa ON: CCAC.
Clough G. & Fasham J.A.L. (1975) A "silent"fire alarm. Laboratory Animals 9(2):193-196.
Harrison D.J. (2001) Controlling exposure tolaboratory animal allergens. ILAR Journal42(1):17-36.
Health Canada (1996) Laboratory BiosafetyGuidelines, 2nd ed. 84pp. Ottawa ON: Govern-ment of Canada. Available at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/pphb-dgspsp/ols-bsl/index.html
Heeke D.S., White M.P., Mele G.D., HanifinJ.P., Brainard G.C., Rollag M.D., Winget C.M.& Holley D.C. (1999) Light-emitting diodesand cool white fluorescent light similarly sup-press pineal gland melatonin and maintainretinal function and morphology in the rat.Laboratory Animal Science 49(3):297-304.
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Peterson, E.A. (1980) Noise and laboratoryanimals. Laboratory Animal Science 30(2):422-439.
Seyfried, T.N. (1979) Audiogenic seizures inmice. Federation Proceedings 38(10):2399-2404.
Swanson M.C., Campbell A.R., O'HollarenM.T. & Reed C.E. (1990) Role of ventilation,air filtration and allergen production rate indetermining concentrations of rat allergens inthe air of animal quarters. American Review ofRespiratory Diseases 141(6):1578-1581.
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E. REFERENCES
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Bilecki B. (2001) Integrating ventilated cagingequipment with facility HVAC and monitor-ing systems. Facility Design and Planning,theme issue, Lab Animal 30:42-47.
Frasier D. (1999) Vivarium Sourcebook, 2nd ed.67pp. Newton MA: Phoenix Controls Corporation.
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Hughes H.C. & Reynolds S. (1995) The use ofcomputational fluid dynamics for modelingairflow design in a kennel facility. Contempo-rary Topics 34(2):49-53.
Hughes H.C., Reynolds S. & Rodriguez M.(1996) Designing animal rooms to optimizeairflow using computational fluid dynamics.Pharmaceutical Engineering 16(2):44-65.
Hughes H.C. & Reynolds S. (1997) The influ-ence of position and orientation of racks onairflow dynamics in a small animal room.Contemporary Topics 36(5):62-67.
Inglis J.K. (1980) Introduction to Laboratory Ani-mal Science and Technology. 321pp. TorontoON: Pergamon Press.
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F. BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Barrier — in the context of animal facilitydesign, a barrier consists of physical systemsand/or performance criteria that limit thetransmission of etiologic agents of disease
Biocontainment — the quarantine or isola-tion of biohazards such as bacteria, viruses,fungi or other infectious agents that may bepathogenic to humans, animals or other formsof life
Biosafety — the proper use of containmentbarriers (inclusion), safety equipment andprocedures to ensure the safety of all person-nel, the public and the environment
Biosecurity — the prevention of animal infec-tions and infestations from entering a unitfrom outside sources; biosecurity is achievedthrough the use of exclusion barriers
Building air envelope — a cloak of air thatinterfaces physically with the structure to theextent that it does not follow the movementpatterns of air further away from the building
Bullnosed corners — rounded corners
Computational fluid dynamics — the use ofcomputers to solve relevant mathematicalequations in order to predict what will hap-pen, quantitatively, when fluids or gases flowunder particular circumstances; it providesinformation on how the fluids/gases willflow and how their flow patterns will changedepending on the solid structures with whichthey are in contact
Etiologic agents of disease — agents thatcause disease
Exclusion barriers — barriers designed toprevent the entry of animal infections andinfestations from outside sources
Fomites — non-living objects that can carrydisease organisms (e.g., restrainers, feeders,mops, etc.)
Genetically modified animals — animals inwhich there has been a deliberate modifica-tion of the genome either via a techniqueknown as transgenesis (when individualgenes from the same or a different species areinserted into another individual) or by the tar-geting of specific changes in individual genesor chromosomes within a single species, i.e.targeted removal of genes (knock-outs) or tar-geted addition of genes (knock-ins)
Immunocompromised — the condition inwhich the immune system is not functioningnormally
Inclusion barriers — barriers designed tocontain infections; they prevent the escape ofagents of disease from the animals in the unitto the outside
Kilohertz (kHz) — cycles per second in thousands
Necropsy — systematic dissection of an ani-mal after death to elucidate the cause ofdeath; postmortem examination
Occludable — able to be closed
Sequestration — separation from others
Standard operating procedure (SOP) — writ-ten documents specifying procedures for rou-tine activities that must be followed to ensurethe quality and integrity of the study
Ventilated cage rack — a shelving unit with an integral ventilation system designed tosupply fresh air to the cages stored on itsshelves
Virus antibody-free — animals which do notshow antibodies to viruses upon testing
Zoonotic — a disease organism that affectsmore than one species and can infect humans
G. GLOSSARY
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AAFC — Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
BB — Bio-breeding (a strain of insulin-dependent diabetic rats)
BSC — Biosafety cabinets
BSE — Bovine spongiform encephalopathy
BTU — British thermal units
CFIA — Canadian Food Inspection Agency
CFM — Cubic feet per minute
CJD — Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease
CNSC — Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
CWD — Chronic wasting disease
dB — Decibel
GFI — Ground fault interrupter
HC — Health Canada
HEPA — High efficiency particulate air
HVAC — Heat, ventilation and air conditioning
Hz — Hertz
kHz — Kilohertz
LED — Light emitting diode
nm — Nanometres
NOD — Non-obese diabetic (mice)
RH — Relative humidity
SCID — Severe combined immunodeficiency
SOP — Standard operating procedure
SPF — Specific pathogen-free
VAF — Viral antibody-free
VCJD — Variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease
VCS — Ventilated cage systems
H. ABBREVIATIONS
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The following is a summary of guidelines referred to throughout this document.
Canadian Council on Animal Care, Guide to the Care and Use of Experimental Animals, vol. 1, 2nd ed.,1993.
Table I: Recommended Codes of Practice for the Care and Handling of Farm Animals
The above are available from the Canadian Agri-Food Research Council (CARC), Ottawa, ON.
The most up-to-date editions of the following publications should be consulted. At the time of print-ing, these are:
• Health Canada (1996) Laboratory Biosafety Guidelines, 2nd ed. Available through Health Canada'sPopulation and Public Health Branch, Laboratory Centre for Disease Control, http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/pphb-dgspsp/ols-bsl/index.html
• Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (1996) Containment Standards for Veterinary Facilities. Publica-tion no. 1921/E. Available at http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/sci/lab/convet/convete.shtml.Responsibility for these standards now rests with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Labora-tories Directorate, Biohazard Containment and Safety Division, http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/sci/lab/bioe.shtml
APPENDIX A
SUMMARY OF RELEVANT GUIDELINES
Species
Mink
Poultry:
Pullets, Layers, and Spent Fowl
Chickens, Turkeys and Breedersfrom Hatchery to Processing Plant
Dairy Cattle
Beef Cattle
Pigs
Addendum Early Weaned Pigs
Horses
Veal Calves
Agriculture and Agri-Food CanadaPublication
1819/E
1853/E
1870/E
1898/E
Date
1988
2003
2003
1990
1991
1993
2003
1998
1998
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EXAMPLE 1No. Required: 25
I.D. No. M-1
Space Name: Conventional Animal Room
Location: Medical Sciences Building, University of Alberta
Size/Configuration: 9.29 m2 (10' x 10'; or 100 ft2)
Purpose: Holding small animals. Depending upon exact size and obstructions(columns, etc.), will hold between two and four small animal racks. Notintended for large animals.
Chemicals/Pathogens: Conventional
Relationships: Access from conventional corridor with unidirectional traffic flow fromrestricted access corridor to general access corridor.
APPENDIX B
EXAMPLES OF DETAILED SPACE DESCRIPTIONS
ARCHITECTURAL Floors Seamless epoxy with integral cove base
Walls Epoxy paint on concrete block
Ceilings Epoxy paint on drywall
Doors • 112 cm x 213 cm (44" x 84")
• Hollow Metal (H.M.) with view light
• H.M. frames grouted solid
Hardware Push, pull, closer, armor plate, weatherstrip,
door bottom, hold open, deadbolt
Cabinetry 76 cm (30") stainless steel shelf above sink
MECHANICAL HVAC • 15 air changes per hour
• Temperature 18°C to 26°C, ± 1°C
• 50% relative humidity, ± 10%
• Use 30% filters in lieu of exhaust grilles
Plumbing Stainless steel handwash sink with wrist blades
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Diagram I: Conventional rodent room
ELECTRICAL Lighting • 650 lux (60 foot candles) recessed vapor-proof
fluorescent with smooth lenses, double-switched
half lamps to timed wall switch, half lamps to
central lighting control computer
• 1085 lux (100 foot candles) at sink on timed
wall switch
• Three weatherproof GFI duplex outlets on circuit
dedicated to room plus one 20 amp outlet on
dedicated circuit
Communications
EQUIPMENT Fixed
Moveable Occasional laminar flow rack ( � � h.p. motor)
Miscellaneous Vacuum hose connection to corridor, vacuum hose
hook, mop, hooks, paper towel dispenser
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EXAMPLE 2No. Required: 10
I.D. No. M-3
Space Name: Cubicle Room
Location: Medical Sciences Building, University of Alberta
Size/Configuration: 31.6 m2 (340 ft2) with 7 alcoves with full glass aluminum doors and frames
Purpose: Provide individual housing for one rack per alcove without tying up anentire room
Chemicals/Pathogens: Conventional
Relationships: On general access corridor and west end mono-directional corridors
ARCHITECTURAL Floors Seamless epoxy with integral cove base
Walls Epoxy paint on concrete block
Ceilings Epoxy paint on drywall
Doors • 112 cm x 213 cm (44" x 84")
• Hollow Metal (H.M.) with view light
• H.M. frames grouted solid
• To cubicles: pair aluminum doors
Hardware • To room: push, pull, closer, armor plate,
weatherstrip, door, bottom, hold open,
deadbolt
• To cubicles: lock, pull, hold open, flush bolt
(head only)
Cabinetry Stainless steel countertop with lockable wall
cabinet above
MECHANICAL HVAC • 15 air changes per hour
• Supply and exhaust in each cubicle
• Temperature 18°C to 26°C, ± 1°C of setpoint
• 50% relative humidity, ± 10%
• Use 30% filters in lieu of exhaust grilles
Plumbing Stainless steel handwash sink with wrist blades
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Diagram II: Rodent room with double-sided ventilated racks
ELECTRICAL Lighting • 650 lux (60 foot candles) recessed vapor-proof fluorescent with smooth lenses, double switched
• Half lamps to timed wall switch, half lamps to central lighting control computer
• 1085 lux (100 foot candles) at sink on timed wall switch
• One weatherproof GFI duplex outlet at 198 cm (6'6") above finished floor in each cubicle and at 107 cm (3'6") at counter
• Dedicated circuit for room
Communications Intercom
EQUIPMENT Fixed
Moveable
Miscellaneous • Vacuum hose connection to corridor, vacuum hose hook, mop
• Hooks in every cubicle and in common area, paper towel dispenser
Diagram III: Rodent room with single-sided ventilated racks
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AN EXAMPLE OF A MORE COMPARTMENTALIZED SPACE PROGRAM
SPACE PROGRAM DATA SHEET
NAME OF INSTITUTION: __________________________ PROJECT NUMBER: ______________
IDENTITY OF SPACE: ________________________________________________________________
GENERAL LOCATION (ZONE OR SUITE): ______________________________________________
ARCHITECTURAL Function
Area required
Number of cages
Number and description of racks
Maximum personnel at any one time
Biosecurity status
Biosafety status
Required sound isolation (sound transmission coefficient)
FUNCTIONAL Primary
Secondary
PHYSICAL
MATERIALS AND Floors (material)
Finish (non-slip, etc.)
Floor to wall junction (e.g., integral cove base)
Walls (material)
Finish(es)
Ceilings (height)
Material
Doors (material)
Window or viewing ports
Frame
Jamb protection
EQUIPMENT Biological safety cabinet
Fume hood
Work station (size)
Other
CRITERIA
FINISHES
ADJACENCIES
ADJACENCIES
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HVAC Temperature setpoint
Relative humidity
Heating
Cooling
Directional airflow
Air changes per hour
Air exhaust
Air supply
Special room filtration
Special exhaust
Heat generating equipment
Mechanical noise criteria
Other
POWER Special equipment
Emergency (quantity)
GFI (quantity)
Dedicated circuits (quantity)
Other
LIGHTING Light type
Light intensity
Special lighting
Other
COMMUNICATIONS Telephone (quantity)
Data (quantity)
Other
PLUMBING Cold water
Hot water
Purified water
Animal water
Vacuum
Oxygen
Natural gas
CO2 gas
Other gases
RECEPTACLES
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Sink(s)
Cup sink
Eyewash
Safety shower
Floor drain(s)
Hose bib
Mixing station
Other
FIRE PROTECTION Sprinkler system
Extinguisher
Fire alarm
Horn
Strobe
Other
SECURITY/ Security access
Badge reader
Special monitoring
HAZARDOUS Flammable
Chemical
Safety closet
Other
COMMENTS:
MONITOR
STORAGE
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APPENDIX C
EXCERPTS FROM THE CCAC GUIDE TO THE CAREAND USE OF EXPERIMENTAL ANIMALS
(vol. 1, 2nd ed., 1993)
Housing and Environment
SPECIES SPACE PER ANIMAL TEMPERATURE R.H. VENTILATION B.T.U.(weight) °C % Changes/Hour Animal/
Hour
Single Minimal Group Room PenFloor Height or Cage FreeArea Housing Ranging
CAT 0.28 m2 0.76 m 0.56 m2 20-22 15-25 45-60 10-18 25-30
Perch Perches
> 4 kg 0.37 m2
CATTLE
Calf 1.5 m2 2.4 m2 10-25 2-27 40-70 5-20 300-800
Cow 3.0 m2 7-10 m2
CHICKEN See CARC Recommended 18-22 12-27 45-70 5-15 30Code of Practice for Poultry
DOG
< 12 kg 0.75 m2 0.8 m 1.5 m2 18-21 5-25 45-55 8-12 80-150
12-30 kg 1.20 m2 0.9 m 2.0 m2
> 30 kg 2.23 m2 pen - 3.0 m2
2.0 m
GERBIL 116 cm2 15 cm pair + 15-24 40-50 8-10 4.0litter 900 cm2
GOAT 1.4 m2 2.0 m 1.0 m2 15-24 7-30 55-65 6-12 350-500
GUINEA PIG
< 350 g 300 cm2 18 cm 500 cm2 18-22 50-60 4-8 5-6
> 350 g 650 cm2 22 cm 800 cm2
HAMSTER 100 cm2 18 cm female 21-24 45-65 6-10 2.5+ litter
> 100 g 120 cm2 18 cm 900 cm2
HORSE 4-5 m2 3 m 13-17 m2 10-24 2-27 25-75 4-8
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Values given in this table are excerpted from the CCAC Guide to the Care and Use of Experimental Animals, vol. 1, 2nd ed., 1993. The parameters defined in this table will be reviewed in the development offuture guidelines. Readers are advised to consult the CCAC website (http://www.ccac.ca) for the most up-to-date information.
SPECIES SPACE PER ANIMAL TEMPERATURE R.H. VENTILATION B.T.U.(weight) °C % Changes/Hour Animal/
HourSingle Minimal Group Room PenFloor Height or Cage FreeArea Housing Ranging
MOUSE < 20 g 65 cm2 13 cm female 22-25 50-70 8-12 0.6
+ litter> 20 g 100 cm2 15 cm 160 cm2
NON-
HUMAN
PRIMATE
Baboon
(Papio sp.)
5-12 kg 0.74 m2 0.91 m 2.8 m2 21-26 15-30 45-60 12-16 60-140
> 12 kg 1.39m2 1.22 m
(Macaca sp.)< 7 kg 0.4 m2 0.81 m 2-3 m2 22-25 18-29 45-60 10-15 60-200
7-15 kg 0.6 m2 0.91 m perches
> 15 kg 0.75 m2 1.2 m
OPOSSUM 0.56m2 0.75 m 21-25 10-27 45-65 10-12
PIGEON 0.18m2 0.38 m 16-20 5-27 45-70 12-15 1.2
QUAIL 400 cm2 15 cm 200 cm2 21-22 20-30 45-70 10-15max. 30 cm
RABBIT
< 4 kg 0.37 m2 0.40 m female 16-22 10-28 40-50 10-20 30-40+ litter shade
> 4 kg 0.46m2 0.45 m 0.93 m2
RAT
< 150 g 150 cm2 18 cm female 20-25 50-55 10-20 4.0
+ litter
> 150 g 250 cm2 18 cm 800 cm2
SHEEP See CARC Recommended 5-21 0-24 50-75 15-25 500-800Code of Practice for Sheep
SWINE 2.0 to 4.0 m2 of pen female 17-24 10-25 55-75 15-20 250-500space per animal + litter
5-8.5 m2
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This is an exercise in estimating the size andscope of an animal facility for a small institu-tion with six investigators.
In Tables I to VI, the experimental animalactivity of six investigators is broken down.For example, Dr A. and his team are research-ing the development of diabetes using strainsof rats and mice which develop the diseasenaturally. It is important to note that theinformation in the various columns is com-piled as a result of interactions between theinvestigator, the laboratory animal veterinar-ian and the animal facility manager.
Determining the number of cages is simplearithmetic, if the number of animals to be heldis known. The same applies to the number ofracks on which the cages are held. It is neces-sary to have determined the types of cagingsystems to be used at this early stage, or atleast to have narrowed it down sufficiently todevelop some idea of the sizes of the racks tobe used and the number of cages per rack.
Finally, the different zones or suites and com-partments within them (e.g., modified barrier,perinatal sheep suite, etc.) are identified. Theservice units, such as the cagewash and stor-age areas, are added. All spaces are sizedergonomically to facilitate their function, andtheir adjacencies are considered. At this time,it is possible to get an approximate estimate ofthe total number of square metres needed tohouse these functions. What remains is thespace required to effectively circulate people,animals and material around the facility. Thisstage, however, is prior to the development ofa graphic test or tentative floor plan. An effi-ciency factor can be used to extrapolate thenet utilizable space required into gross space.The efficiency factor is usually expressed as a
percent of the net area, to which it is added.Renovations are usually associated withgreater inefficiencies of space utilization, andhence, may have an efficiency factor of 55%,as compared to a new building at 40%.
Using the standard industry guide for theregion in which the project is located, a costper gross square metres (or feet) can be usedto give some useful idea of the match betweenthe size and scope of the facility needed andthe funds available or required.
Note that under 'comments', the BB rats aredisease-free. The mice, however, have aknown parasitic worm infestation and are notdesignated disease-free. They are designated'conventional' which means they could beinfected with other mouse diseases as well. Asa result, the rats will be housed in a modifiedbarrier area, whereas the mice will be housedin a conventional access area (i.e. minimal barriers).
In our modified barrier, food and bedding areautoclaved. Drinking water is sterilized andsterile hats, masks, gowns, gloves and disin-fected rubber boots are used to enter the area.
Although the mice, being conventional, are not sheltered from infection in the sameway, they will be placed in an area or zonewhere the parasitism will be kept under control by separation, treatment and stringent disinfection.
The point is that the integration of adequateinformation requires input from all the mem-bers of the planning team, with respect to animal rooms and the type of zone in whichthey are to be located, and not from any oneindividual.
APPENDIX D
A SIMPLIFIED EXAMPLE OF PRELIMINARY SIZEESTIMATION FOR AN ANIMAL FACILITY
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Species Status Number How they Cages Racks, Comments Compartments Number of Whereheld at are housed: runs, compartmentsany one group, pens, etc.time singly, etc.
B.B. Rats Disease-free 100 Pairs and 75 3 racks From 3 or 4 rack 1 room In(Insulin singly disease-free room (or 4 modifiedDependant) colony cubicle suite) barrier
NOD Conventional 300 50/50 pairs 90-100 4 racks Parasitism, 4 rack room 1 room or ConventionalMice and fours serological (or 4 cubicle cubicle suite access
status suite) areaunknown
Table I: DR A. and TEAM DIABETES INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDY
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Species Status Number How they Cages Racks, Comments Compartments Number of Whereheld at are housed: runs, compartmentsany one group, pens, etc.time singly, etc.
Rats Conventional 120 Singly 120 5 racks Mycoplasm – 5 cubicle suite 1 cubicle suite Conventional(Zucker) contain known access area
infection
Rats (SD) Disease-free 300 Singly and 225 9 racks From disease- 3 or 4 rack 3 rooms Modifiedin pairs free colony – room (or 3 suites barrier
barrier cubicle suites)
Mice Transgenic – 10 cages One male, 62 per 2 double- Free of all 2 double-sided One animal Full3 strains for 2 females strain sided murine 98 cage VCS room barrier
breeding TOTAL ventilated pathogens zonetriads 186 for 3 isolator
strains cage system 10 for Pregnant (VCS)separating females 98 cages pregnant separated per rack females plus change
stationweaned Weanlings mice caged inheld to groups of 4 8 weeks,20-30 weanlingsper week
Table II: DR B. and TEAM LIPID, LIPOPROTEIN METABOLISM MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
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Species Status Number How they Cages Racks, Comments Compartments Number of Whereheld at are housed: runs, compartmentsany one group, pens, etc.time singly, etc.
Mice Nude (nu/nu) 120 Pairs 60 3 racks Immuno 3 or 4 rack 1 room One large deficient – rooms – 1 cubicle suite cubicle suite barrier cubicle suite in modified
barrierMice SCID 20 Pairs 10 1 rack Immuno Cubicle 1 cubicle
deficient –barrier
Rabbit Disease-free 60 Singly 60 10 racks Naïve to 5 rack or 2 to 3 rooms Modified(gnotobiotic infection 4 rack room barrierorigin)
Table III: DR C. and TEAMTRANSPLANTATION AND XENOGRAFTING
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Species Status Number How they Cages Racks, Comments Compartments Number of Whereheld at are housed: runs, compartmentsany one group, pens, etc.time singly, etc.
Mice Disease-free 200 Fours 50 2 racks Barrier and Cubicles 1 cubicle suite Bio-(VAF) barrier biocontainment containmentmaintained (with naïve
animals)Guinea Disease-free 20 Singly 20 1 rack Barrier and Cubicle 1 cubicle suitePigs barrier biocontainment
maintained
Rabbit Pasteurella, 20 Singly 20 4 racks Treat as Cubicles or 4 1 room orcoccidia, healthy rabbits. rack room cubicle suiteencephalita- Make sure nozoon free conventional
contact. No disease-free rabbit contact
Table IV: DR D. and TEAMBACTERIAL DISEASES, IMMUNOPROPHYLAXIS(BIOCONTAINMENT LEVEL II)
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Species Status Number How they Cages Racks, Comments Compartments Number of Whereheld at are housed: runs, compartmentsany one group, pens, etc.time singly, etc.
Beagles S.P.F. 16 Pairs -------- 8 Runs 8 runs - 5 run rooms 2 rooms Modified modified barrier, barrier. noiseNo contact isolatedwith any pound dogs
Table V: DR E. and TEAMCYSTIC FIBROSIS TREATMENTRHEOLOGY OF BRONCHIAL MUCUS
Species Status Number How they Cages Racks, Comments Compartments Number of Whereheld at are housed: runs, compartmentsany one group, pens, etc.time singly, etc.
Sheep Timed 6 Singly ------- 6 Pens Must assume 6 pen room 1 large animal Sequestered pregnant, Q fever - room suite - a largefarm source always animal
possible biocontainmentunit (negative pressure)
Table VI: DR F. AND TEAMPERINATOLOGY
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Table VII: SUMMARY
Summation:After reviewing the information relevant to each investigator, the information can be summarizedand the types of zones needed to accommodate the required species of different status determined.Thus, for the six investigators in this hypothetical institution, the number and type of zones requiredcan be determined.
Concentrating on the last four columns in Tables I to VI, the following functional zones may be iden-tified and grouped. (Note: where rooms are favored over cubicles, anterooms may be stipulated inconfiguring room conformations in the detailed space program.)
Conventional 1 room or cubicle suite of NOD miceAccess 5 cubicle suites of Zucker rats
Conventional 4 five-run rooms of conditioned pound dogsAccessNoise Isolated
Modified 1 room or cubicle suite of BB ratsBarrier 1 room or cubicle suite of transgenic mice
2 rooms or cubicle suites of SD rats (disease-free)1 cubicle for immunocompromised mice3 four-rack rooms (with anterooms) for rabbits (disease-free)
Modified 2 five-run rooms (with anterooms) for SPF beaglesBarrierNoise Isolated
Full Barrier Enigmatic in early stages of the program. There is a need for one room containing 2 VCS at the full barrier level immediately.Initially, a modified barrier is all that may be needed if the operating procedures are stringent enough.In this, as in most cases, growth of the unit is anticipated so that some elasticity is needed for this (i.e. an expandable barrier or modified barrierunit is desirable). Thus the personnel and material access is physically facilitated initially (autoclave, showers, etc.).In an expandable barrier, the design and adjacencies make it possible for the animal rooms to be annexed to the full barrier as needed.
Biocontainment 1 cubicle suite (5 rack) for mice and guinea pigs1 cubicle suite (5 rack) for rabbits1 suite for the care and use of pregnant sheep (6 pens)
- with the capability for major abdominal surgery and monitoring of thelive fetus.
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Facilitation of the logical movement of per-sonnel, animals, food, and various items ofequipment around, and in and out of, the ani-mal facility necessitates careful planning. Forthose unfamiliar with the day-to-day work-ings of an animal facility, it is necessary tovisit one at its busiest time to appreciate notonly the variety of movement, but the consid-erable volume of traffic as well. Traffic flowis, therefore, a very important consideration,and effective planning based on sound con-cepts and principles will have a major impacton the usefulness of the facility.
Generally, items and different categories ofpeople can be split into 'clean' and 'dirty' (or'soiled') designations. These simplistic termsare used to differentiate between those things(animate and inanimate) that may potentiallytransport infections or noxious substancesfrom place to place, and those that are uncon-taminated and unthreatening.
To those unfamiliar with animal facilities andtheir operation, it is quite possible for an item
or person to look clean, but in effect be classi-fied as 'dirty'. For example, some unusedclean cages from an animal room in whichanimals are being housed, when removedfrom the room are technically as dirty as thosein which animals (e.g., mice) have beenhoused that actually contain bedding mixedwith hair, dander, feces and urine.
The terms contaminated and uncontaminated(and decontaminated) could be used, butthese are important terms when dealing withknown infections and biohazards. They are,therefore, reserved for that purpose; for gen-eral management purposes, the terms 'clean'and 'dirty' prevail.
The importance of designating 'clean' and'dirty' in the list of personnel, animals, food,waste materials, and items of equipmentwhich must be moved around, in and out ofthe animal facility, becomes apparent in thefollowing table.
APPENDIX E
TRAFFIC FLOW PATTERNS
ITEM
Animals forresearch, teaching andtesting
STATUS
Clean
Dirty
MOVEMENT
The vast majority of rodents now being received byfacilities from commercial vendors are free of infec-tions and infestations. They are received at a cleandock and will either move to a quarantine area ordirectly to a clean animal room.
Random source animals (e.g., dogs originally from apound) and most farm species are dirty and arereceived at the dirty dock. Their movement is deemeddirty and incompatible with disease-free rodents.
Table I: Animals, Personnel, Food and Equipment on the Move in an Animal Facility
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Table I: Animals, Personnel, Food and Equipment on the Move in an Animal Facility(continued)
ITEM
Investigators,including post-doctoralfellows, graduate students andtechnical staff,in the laboratories
Laboratory ani-mal servicepersonnel,including labo-ratory animaltechnicians andthe attendingveterinarian
Plant maintenancepersonnel
Security personnel
Fresh bedding
STATUS
Initially dirty thenvariable
Initially dirty from home, commencing work clean, subsequently variable
Dirty
Dirty
Clean/dirty (dubious)
MOVEMENT
The status of the scientific community in the adjacentlaboratories is unknown. Their leisure contact withanimals is unknown. On coming to the animal facility,they need to remove top clothes and at least don aclean lab coat and sometimes facility footwear in alocker room. For those going to disease-free animals,a complete change to clean coveralls or scrub suitsmight be necessary. Investigators leaving biocontain-ment zones shower-out at that point.
On arriving at work, the staff members of the animalfacility change completely into clean work clothes(coveralls, scrub suits, etc.), and facility footwear (per-sonal). Each employee then travels through the facil-ity dealing with clean and dirty functions, preferablyin an either/or situation. If they do both clean anddirty tasks, the clean ones are completed first. In themost complex scenario, showering and changing arerequired when going from dirty to clean or elevatingstatus, e.g., entering a designated disease-free zone (abarrier zone) from the general facility. Personnel, onleaving biocontainment zones, shower-out at thatpoint.
Preventative maintenance is essential in the mechani-cally intensive facility. The facility should be friendlyto the plant maintenance staff. In newer facilities,much of their work is confined to spaces adjacent tothe facility floor in locations such as interstitial, episti-tial, or core areas. Working within the facility propermay require changing.
This is an important feature. It is necessary but prob-lematic in certain zones to have adequate surveillance.Electronic alarms and video scans are useful. Win-dows can be another advantage (internal). Actualphysical movement of security personnel must berestricted.
Shavings, sawdust and other bulk products are ofdoubtful origin. Bagged bedding materials tend to beless problematic if the bags are clean, undamaged anddry. Bedding should be received clean, but held in aperipheral location until it is examined, possiblytreated (autoclaved) and then distributed.
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Table I: Animals, Personnel, Food and Equipment on the Move in an Animal Facility(continued)
ITEM
Food
Cages andracks, anditems for animal containment
Dry goods
Soiled beddingmaterial
STATUS
Clean (especiallyinside the bags, exterior dubious) but not barrier ready
Clean
Dirty
Clean, but not necessarily barrierready
Dirty (very)
MOVEMENT
Food from the reputable manufacturers is cleanlybagged in designated plants, being pasteurized by theheat of manufacture. It is received at a clean dock,treated and stored, preferably close to the point ofreceipt. Distribution from then on is in clean contain-ers and certain foods may be autoclaved for entry intobarrier zones.
Cages, etc., are washed in water reaching a tempera-ture of 180°F (approximately 83°C). They are NOTstrictly sterile but referred to as sanitized. They movefrom the clean side of the cagewash area to the desig-nated zone of use. They may be autoclaved into a bar-rier zone. Where clean cages are moved through areaswhere cross-contamination theoretically may occur,they are containerized, either in hard-shell containersor covered with clean fitted soft covers (plastics orcloth fabrics), sometimes aptly referred to as ‘toastercovers'.
Dirty cages, etc. are moved to the dirty side of thecagewash area for soil elimination and washing. Fromthis point, soiled bedding must be moved in the mostdirect and shortest way to the dumpster or incinerator.Again, 'toaster covers' may be needed en route.
These are sponges, paper towels, disposable items ofprotective clothing, etc. for general distributionreceived at the clean dock, stored adjacent, and distrib-uted directly to points of use. In the case of barriers,the containers may require surface disinfection. Auto-claving is a barrier option also.
Soiled bedding is usually moved in the dirty cages tothe dirty side of the cagewash area. It can transporteasily transmissible infectious diseases of the animalsthemselves (not experimentally induced). For this rea-son, the cages may be covered during transit. Afterremoval from the cages, the soiled bedding must moveto the dirty dock and then to a closed dumpster or tothe incinerator. The route must be short and direct(see functional adjacencies). Dirty cages, etc. from abiocontainment facility may be autoclaved out of thezone prior to washing.
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Table I: Animals, Personnel, Food and Equipment on the Move in an Animal Facility(continued)
ITEM
Hazardouswaste material
Radioactivematerials
Dead animals
STATUS
Dirty
Dirty
Dirty
MOVEMENT
When this is an item to be dealt with, designated stor-age is required, preferably close to the dirty dock fromwhich it can be moved from the facility. Dirty cagescontaining hazardous waste material may need to becontainerized for transport from the animal room tothe decontamination zone adjacent to the dirty side ofthe cagewash area.
Depending on the half-life of the radionuclide used,the material (e.g., soiled bedding) will need to be col-lected in a designated zone and then stored until decayhas occurred, or be transported to another location fordecay. In cases where gamma emissions occur, spe-cially shielded containerization of soiled equipmentmay be required prior to movement.
Dead animals are collected, identified and moved tocold storage which is usually adjacent to the necropsyroom. Dead animals and tissues from necropsy aretransported to the incinerator or dispatched to anotherlocation for incineration via the dirty dock. Radioac-tive animals and tissues are stored frozen in radioac-tive waste storage until harmless.
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APPENDIX F
HEAT PRODUCTION
Factors causing variability in these figures are: room temperature; relative humidity; and levels ofactivity and stress of the animals, both of which affect metabolic rate.
Table I: Approximate Heat Production by Various Animal Species
Individual Weight Total Heat Produced
Animal lb kg BTU/hr/lb KJ/hr/kg
Mouse 0.05 0.02 65 149
Baby Chick 0.10 0.05 28 62
Hamster 0.24 0.11 34 74
Pigeon 0.61 0.28 38 84
Rat 0.66 0.30 34 76
Guinea Pig 0.90 0.41 32 71
Chicken 2.00 0.91 15 33
Rabbit 6.00 2.72 20 44
Cat 7.00 3.18 19 42
Monkey 9.00 4.08 19 42
Dog 35.00 15.88 10 22
Goat 79.00 35.83 8 18
Sheep 99.00 44.91 10 22
Pig 25.00 11.34 9 20
Hog 550.00 249.48 7 16
Calf 300.00 136.08 5 11
Cow 1000.00 453.60 3 7
Horse 1000.00 453.60 3 7
Human Adult 150.00 68.00 4 9
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