Air Tightness Testing For BioSafety Level 3 (BSL-3)

By Milind Shinde, project manager, Elomatic

All bio-containment guidelines and inspection documents  set  requirements  for  airtight  containment boundaries  around  biohazards. Current international containment guidelines only scratch the surface for biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) and the available  tests  proposed  are  not entirely  suitable  for  such  facilities. Some  steps  in  the  right  direction have been  taken, notably as outlined  in  the standards  put  forth  in the  Australia-New  Zealand model for their Physical Containment 3 designation. Until that exists, we can do what is reasonable to ensure sound and appropriate laboratories, which I believe means qualitative testing with well-considered test protocols based on what the laboratory is intended for.