All air, water and waste is treated in some way before leaving the laboratory. Air is filtered by HEPA filters which trap the smallest of particles. Air is filtered once before coming into the laboratory, and then is filtered through HEPA filters twice before exiting the building. All materials including equipment and clothing are disinfected by heat or chemical sterilization before leaving the laboratory. Liquids are pretreated using chemical disinfectant and then leave the laboratory for further treatment in the liquid effluent system, where it is resterilized, cooled and diluted before entering the city wastewater system en route to the city water treatment plant.
Solid waste is sterilized, by heating in an autoclave.
Large waste is sterilized in a solid biowaste control tank that heats and breaks down the material at extremely high temperature. The waste is then disposed of in city landfill. Large items that cannot pass through autoclave or chemical dunk tanks are treated by chemical sterilization in a decontamination chamber adjacent to the lab. This room is also used for emergency medical access. If there were a medical emergency, or need to leave the laboratory immediately, the person can leave the laboratory from the decontamination chamber, where the suit could be treated manually with disinfectant.