When a lab is relocated or closed, all the equipment remaining or being moved must be properly disposed of or decontaminated. The BalCon team understands the compliance and regulations that surround this process and can provide the expertise and support necessary to keep your facility and equipment safe for staff.

Biological safety cabinets protect personnel, product and/or the environment from contamination. Biological safety cabinets are necessary for optimum control over product quality and reduce potential for unwanted exposure. Biological safety cabinets, tissue culture hoods and glove boxes that have been used with potentially infectious materials must be decontaminated and recertified by a qualified outside contractor. If your facility uses and plans to relocate this specialized equipment, contact your EHS Departmental Safety Advisor to discuss decontamination well in advance of the move. Most cases require the use of a disinfectant that targets the specific biological materials used within the lab.

Areas and equipment used with radioactive materials require additional decontamination requirements.

HEPA filters are used in biological safety cabinets to maximize possible protection for products, people and the laboratory environment. For optimum performance and safety, HEPA filtration devices must be expertly designed and regularly tested and recertified. HEPA Filters in Class I & Class II Biological Safety Cabinets Class I biological safety cabinets are intended to protect the operator and environment from the product or organism inside the cabinet Class II biological safety cabinets are intended to protect the product from the environment

Laboratories require ventilation and temperature control to optimize energy use, maintain experiment integrity and ensure personnel safety. Fume hood controls maintain the constant face velocity needed to provide containment. Properly designed laboratory controls significantly cut energy usage. It’s important that fume hoods are cleaned prior to maintenance. All laboratory personnel involved in fume hood maintenance must have the appropriate safety training. Protective equipment such as respirators, gloves, boots, waterproof clothing and eye protection should be worn during cleaning and maintenance.

A laminar flow cabinet (laminar flow closet or tissue culture hood) is a carefully enclosed bench designed to prevent contamination of semiconductor wafers, biological samples or any particle sensitive materials. Air is drawn through a HEPA filter and blown in a very smooth, laminar flow towards the user.

Specifically designed for compounding pharmaceutical ingredients or preparations, this form of isolator maintains an aseptic compounding environment within the isolator throughout the compounding and material transfer processes. Air exchange into the isolator from the surrounding environment should not occur unless the air has first passed through a microbiological retentive filter (HEPA minimum).