Biocontainment

Texas A&M University is planning to build the $285.6 million Pandemic Influenza Facility in the Bryan-College Station BioCorridor. The 151,600-sf project will accommodate the development of countermeasures for pandemic and biological threats and is supported by $176 million in federal funding. The facility will house cleanrooms for vaccine manufacturing, decontamination rooms, quality control labs, and a central utility plant. Construction will begin in June of 2013 with completion expected in December of 2014.

This book is a collection of management experiences, insights, and lessons learned on building and operating high-containment facilities from facility planners, project directors, owners, end users, science program managers, and facility operators who have worked in the high-containment arena for the ten-year period 2002-2012.

Recent high-profile natural disasters and human-based incidents are driving vivarium facility owners to reevaluate their disaster and contingency plans. Traditional approaches to risk assessment and research preservation are often over-simplified, understaffed, and insufficiently funded. A new shift in thinking focuses on preparing for the net results of losing utilities, an entire building, or access to a section of campus rather than the initial causes.

The new Toronto Public Health Laboratory will be built on the top four floors of the MaRS Phase II Tower in Ontario, Canada. Merrick & Company, Diamond Schmitt Architects, and HH Angus are planning and designing the facility, which includes CL-2 and CL-3 labs, associated support systems, and offices. The project will provide flexible research space designed for ease of adaption to new testing platforms, workload surges, and changing research activities.

The National Institute of Virology opened a BSL-4 laboratory in December of 2012 in Pune, India. The $12 million facility is the first level four biocontainment lab in the country and will support the detection and study of infectious disease agents and pathogens. The National Institute of Virology campus also includes existing BSL-3 and BSL-2 laboratories.

The National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC) opened 30,000 sf of BSL-3 laboratory space at Fort Detrick in December of 2012. The facilities have been accredited by the Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, enabling the center to operate at full capacity. Construction was completed on the project in 2009. NBACC is operated by Battelle National Biodefense Institute for the Department of Homeland Security and includes 11,000 sf of BSL-4 space.

Tradeline asked 120 individuals representing 98 research organizations to prioritize their areas of focus for 2013 and to make open-ended comments regarding those priorities. The priorities identified in this survey will be the focus of Tradeline's upcoming conference: The 2013 International Conference on Biocontainment Facilities on March 18-19, 2013, in San Diego.

The respondents’ overall priorities are:

1. Pressure and airflow control

2. Maintenance/operations requirements and processes

3. People, teams, and competency

Despite years of planning, in-depth professional experience, and multiple layers of oversight, things often do not work as planned at biocontainment laboratories. Even when they meet all safety and security requirements, facilities may run into unexpected life cycle costs which only become evident after a year or two of occupancy and operation, says Tim Mandrell, DVM, director of lab animal care for the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHTC) Regional Biocontainment Laboratory. Knowing what problems to look and prepare for can help minimize costly facility downtime.

The University of Hawaii is planning to build the $47.5 Pacific Health Research Lab in Kalaeloa in West Oahu. The 31,000-sf facility will provide biocontainment laboratories for the study of emerging infectious diseases. The project will be a Regional Biosafety Laboratory and is supported by funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

When the Institute for Animal Health in Pirbright, U.K., launched a significant upgrade of aging infrastructure to improve health- and safety-related systems at its high-level containment facilities, project leaders undertook a benchmarking process to determine how much the upgrades would cost to operate and how Pirbright's organizational structure compared with similar facilities in preparing to meet long-range goals.

Researchers at the Health Protection Agency (HPA) in the United Kingdom have developed a way to safely anesthetize and transfer animals from BSL-3 and BSL-4 containment to a mobile imaging facility for CT and MRI scans without breaking the containment barrier. The process allows them to obtain the high-resolution, three-dimensional images necessary for their research without building a costly suite onsite.

The District of Columbia opened the $210 million Consolidated Forensic Laboratory in October of 2012 in Washington. The 351,000-sf (287,000-nsf) facility provides diagnostic labs for public health, autopsies, DNA testing, and the investigation of bioterrorism threats. The eight-story building includes two floors below grade and includes a BSL-3 suite.

The need to minimize risk governs almost every aspect of building operation at biocontainment facilities, presenting special management and operational challenges. With safety and security such paramount priorities, the rigorous environment is further complicated by sophisticated infrastructure, multiple user groups, and a mix of personnel with varied competencies and skill levels.

The Saskatchewan Disease Control Laboratory opened a CL3 biocontainment facility in September of 2012. The lab is sited on the campus of the University of Regina and will provide rapid specimen testing for infectious disease identification and response. The facility is located in a three-story, 107,639-sf building that was completed in May of 2010. 

Washington State University dedicated the Paul G. Allen Center for Global Animal Health in September of 2012 in Pullman, Wash. The three-story, 62,000-sf facility features a 5,000-sf BSL-3 laboratory for infectious disease research as well as two floors of BSL-2 research space and an administrative wing housing offices and conference rooms. The facility was designed by Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects and built by Bouten Construction.