Safe Storage Requirements for Vivarium Laboratories
Posted by Safe & Vault on Oct 03, 2014
In the current day and age of mandated medical testing and experimentation in fields of from pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, pesticides, and other beneficial agents, many companies and universities have incorporated into their institutions what is known as a “vivarium.”
A vivarium, by definition, is an animal research facility specially designed to best facilitate the needs for the building in which it is housed. Vivariums provide controlled environments for the care and maintaining of animals used in scientific experimentation.
Whether a vivarium is inside of a building, or in a freestanding facility, all share the same basic attributes;
- maintain tight environmental control over the facility to avoid induction of contaminants and pathogens, to prevent the possibility of infectious outbreaks, and avoid high transmission of odors.
- care and maintenance of experimental animals.
- promote maintainability and cleanliness
- organize circulation to permit controlled flow of people, animals, materials, supplies, and wastes.
- maintain and adapt environmental control within spaces, and between circulation, paths to avoid contamination or infection.
- cage sizes and systems must be species-dependant, and governed by the rules set forth in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.
- heightened awareness to issues of security in order to maintain confidentiality and prevent unauthorized intrusions.
- continuous maintenance of the environment must be without failure, downtime, or disruption.
Since many vivariums are conducting experimentation utilizing controlled substances that are already approved, or even those that are in animal trial stages, there is a very precise legal standard that must be adhered to with regard to storage of these agents.
All drugs scheduled by the Drug Enforcement Agency (from Class I through Class IV) are to be stored in accordance with Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 1301 as enacted by the DEA. The code specifies that, in the instance of small amounts of drugs permit, a safe or steel cabinet may be used. This safe or cabinet must provide;
* 30 man-minutes against surreptitious entry
* 10 man-minutes against forced entry
* 20 man-hours against lock manipulation
* 20 man-hours against radiological techniques
The Code also states that if a DEA approved safe or steel cabinet is less than weights less than 750 lbs., it must be bolted or cemented to the floor in such a way it cannot be removed. Also, depending on the quantities and type of the substances being stored, the safe or cabinet must be equipped with an alarm system which, upon attempted break-in, shall transmit a signal directly to a central protection company or a local or State police agency which has a legal duty to respond, or a 24-hour control station operated by the registrant, or such other protection.