Filters are installed to permit in-place decontamination and replacement. Other liquid and gas services to the facility are protected by devices that prevent backflow. If water fountains are provided, they are foot operated and are located in the facility corridors outside the laboratory. The water service to the fountain is not connected to the backflow-protected distribution system supplying water to the laboratory areas. Access doors to the laboratory are self-closing and lockable.
Any windows are breakage resistant.
A double-doored autoclave is provided for decontaminating materials passing out of the facility. A pass-through dunk tank, fumigation chamber, or an equivalent decontamination method is provided so that materials and equipment that cannot be decontaminated in the autoclave can be safely removed from the facility. Effluents from showers and toilets may be discharged to the sanitary sewer without treatment. The process used for decontamination of liquid wastes must be validated physically and biologically by use of a constant recording temperature sensor in conjunction with an indicator microorganism having a defined heat susceptibility profile. A dedicated non-recirculating ventilation system is provided.