WHERE SHOULD BIOLOGICAL SAFETY CABINETS BE LOCATED

Biological safety cabinets or BCS are used to provide both the clean work environment and protection for employees who can create aerosols when working with biological hazards. A biosafety cabinet is also known as biological safety cabinet which has some special appeal of its own and this has some own features and characteristics. Several different types of BSC are available and these are differentiating by the degree of biocontainment requirement. The primary purpose of a BSC is to serve as means to protect the laboratory worker and the surrounding environment from pathogens. Most biological safety cabinets are not classified under this standard because they are not typically used for large quantities of volatile chemicals. So last but not the least that the biosafety cabinet and the fume hood’s working procedures are totally different and that is why it is not possible to use a biosafety cabinet as a fume hood.

The class 2 type a biological safety cabinet is the most common safety cabinet of all the different types available. It has the common plenum from which 30% of air is exhausted and the 70% recalculated to the work area as the down flow. A key distinction is that biosafety cabinets have an internal blower motor which recalculates potentially contaminated air through HEPA filters.

Now the question where to locate this biological safety cabinet? There should have some safety procedures which must have to follow before locating any biological safety cabinet. Like-

• Try to install BSC s to allow access to their supply and exhaust filters for annual certification testing and HEPA filter The top of the cabinet must be at least 18’ below the ceiling to field test exhaust flow according to NSF standard 49.
• To avoid disturbing the airflow that protects the worker, locate BSCs so lab personnel existing and entering the lab do not pass in front of them.
• To protect, do not install the biological safety cabinet directly opposite to the workstations.
• Biosafety cabinet should be located out of the laboratory personnel traffic pattern. They can also place or located at the end of an aisle.
• BCS should not be placed near an entryway and this cannot be avoided they should place at least 60” from behind the doorway or 40” from an adjacent door.
• Clear zones around the cabinet should be included a minimum of 80” from opposing walls, 60” from opposing bench areas or occasional traffic areas and 40” between the BSC and bench tops along a perpendicular wall.
• BSC along the perpendicular walls shall be placed 48” apart.
• Make sure if two BSCs are placed next to each other there should be a minimum of 40” between them.
• A minimum of 120” should be between two cabinets facing each other.

Work zone minimum dimensions include 40” in the front of the cabinet and 12” on each side which will be finest for locating this biosafety cabinet.