In a clean/dirty facility design, what is a requirement for animal room access?

In a clean/dirty facility design, the requirement for animal room access is centered around maintaining the highest levels of biosecurity and contamination control. Separate doors for entrance from clean corridors and exit to dirty corridors is essential for preventing the transfer of pathogens and contaminants into the clean areas where animals are housed. This design ensures that personnel entering the animal room do so from a clean area, minimizing the risk of introducing harmful agents that could affect the animals’ health or the integrity of research.

This separation also facilitates a one-way flow of traffic, which is key in reducing the risk of cross-contamination between clean and dirty environments. This requirement aligns with standard practices in laboratory animal care and facility design, as it establishes clear boundaries between clean areas, which are controlled and sanitized, and dirty areas, which may be contaminated or require decontamination.

Design choices that involve combining clean and dirty traffic through single entrances or not utilizing strict separation protocols would compromise the facility's efficacy in preventing contamination. Therefore, the focus on separate doors is crucial in maintaining biosecurity and promoting animal welfare in a laboratory setting.