Life Sciences Facilities
Containment Laboratories
Life Sciences Facilities
Containment Laboratories
Containment Laboratories
What makes Containment Laboratories
A containment laboratory is built around a barrier that has to be demonstrably intact before anyone works inside it, the building itself is part of the safety case.
Design considerations for Containment Laboratories
The containment level set by the risk assessment, and the barrier design, sealing and integrity testing that follow from it; directional airflow and a defined pressure cascade, with alarms and fail-safe behaviour on loss of airflow; microbiological safety cabinets, interlocks on doors and airlocks, and emergency provision including access and escape; waste inactivation on site, usually autoclaving, with the space, services and validation regime designed in; independent temperature and humidity control where the work or the organisms require it; and decontamination and cleaning regimes the finishes and detailing can actually withstand.
Regulatory context
Governing-body approval and sign-off is required before the facility can operate. In the UK, COSHH and the ACDP guidance on working with biological agents typically govern a Containment Level 2 laboratory: mechanical ventilation arranged so air moves inward from clean areas towards the laboratory; air-change rates set by heat load, the substances handled and occupancy, commonly in the region of 6–10 air changes per hour rather than a fixed standard; extract discharged to atmosphere with no recirculation; microbiological safety cabinets validated on installation and re-tested annually; fume cupboards to BS EN 14175 with face velocity verified in use; and interlocks preventing extract and supply systems fighting each other.
How Axentia delivers Containment Laboratory projects
Containment facilities need one party accountable for the barrier, envelope integrity, temperature and humidity control, pressure cascade, interlocks and waste inactivation all have to be proven together before a governing body will sign off. We would normally recommend Construction Management, which is how we delivered an insect quarantine and containment complex on a UK biotech campus, including a cold corridor for additional containment control. Where containment sits inside a wider construction scheme, an external principal contractor can hold the site while Axentia programme-manages the containment scope and the approval route.
Case Studies
Examples of Containment Laboratory projects we've delivered
Containment Laboratories FAQs
What are the specific requirements of a containment laboratory?
Containment laboratories are built around a barrier that has to be demonstrably intact before anyone works in them:
- The containment level set by the risk assessment, and the barrier design, sealing and integrity testing that follow from it.
- Directional airflow and a defined pressure cascade, with alarms and fail-safe behaviour on loss of airflow.
- Microbiological safety cabinets, interlocks on doors and airlocks, and emergency provision including access and escape.
- Waste inactivation on site, usually autoclaving, with the space, services and validation regime designed in.
- Independent temperature and humidity control where the work or the organisms require it.
- Decontamination and cleaning regimes the finishes and detailing can actually withstand.
- Governing-body approval and sign-off before the facility can operate.
I am looking to build a containment lab. What sort of delivery model is best for me?
Containment facilities need one party accountable for the barrier: envelope integrity, independent temperature and humidity control, air pressure cascade, interlocks and waste inactivation all have to be proven together before a governing body will sign the facility off. We would normally recommend Construction Management, which is how we delivered an insect quarantine and containment complex on a UK biotech campus, including a cold corridor for additional containment control. Where containment sits inside a wider construction scheme, an external principal contractor can hold the site while we programme-manage the containment scope and the approval route.
Talk to us about your Containment Laboratory project
Talk to our team about your facility, budget and timeline — we’ll recommend the right route to delivery.