BSL3

Safe use of a BSL3 facility depends on a well designed facility, careful adherence to safety precautions, and an effective decontaminating agent. Only gaseous decontaminating agents such as formaldehyde and Chlorine Dioxide (CD) offer effective decontamination against life threatening organisms in a non-ideal setting. They are used because they are the only decontaminating agents that are truly effective in areas that are difficult to reach such as in floor drains, ceiling grids, the underside of furniture and components, the inside of cabinets, hinges, instruments and components, and other difficult to reach areas. Other decontaminating methods such as sprays, mists, foggers, vapor generation systems, and manual wiping are not effective because they do not reach all areas at an effective concentration.

  • Sprayers, foggers and misters create small size droplets that are heavier than air and settle downwards. They do not get coverage on the underside of components.
  • Manual wiping methods are subject to missing areas because of human error.
  • Vapor generation systems temporarily create vapors that transform back into a liquid upon delivery to the target chamber. They are subject to temperature gradients that create an uneven distribution of the decontaminating vapor/liquid that scavenge it from warmer areas and condense out on cooler surfaces. This creates areas with a greater amount of the decontaminating agent and areas with less or little. Coverage into difficult areas is also challenged.