Opinion ID: 622359
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The LLNL Biosafety Level-Three Facility

Text: On December 16, 2002, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), an agency within the DOE, authorized the construction of a BSL-3 laboratory at LLNL. Center for Disease Control (CDC) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) guidelines divide biosafety lab operations into four levels: BSL-1 (least hazardous) through BSL-4 (most hazardous). BSL-3 laboratories work with agents that may cause diseases in humans with serious or lethal consequences if untreated, and which have the potential of airborne transmission. Common agents found in BSL-3 facilities include West Nile virus, yellow fever virus, Mycobaterium tuberculosis, and SARS virus. There are more than 1,350 BSL-3 laboratories in the United States. Common examples of BSL-3 facilities include hospital surgical suites, laboratories associated with medical schools, and university research laboratories. At the time of construction, the LLNL BSL-3 facility was the only BSL-3 facility operating in the same facility as a nuclear laboratory. The DOE decided to undertake the construction of an onsite BSL-3 facility at LLNL because limitations in its BSL-1 and 2 laboratories forced LLNL to conduct its BSL-3 research off-site. This off-site research was difficult and costly because LLNL lacked physical control, and shipping and handling increased the risk of cross-contamination and degradation. For the new BSL-3 facility, LLNL selected a 1,500 square-foot, prefabricated building to be constructed next to existing BSL-2 facilities. The air-handling system comprised a double High Efficiency Particulate Air-Purifying (HEPA) air filtration system, as is consistent with CDC guidelines. Each HEPA filter removes at least 99.97 percent of bioagents. The facility also has additional safeguards against pathogenic breach, including a ventilation system that would draw the contaminated air back into the facility, a backup power system that would enable employees to shut down portions of the contaminated part of the facility, and a zone-tight system that would prevent any air flow in the facility in the event of a total power loss.