The Office of Research Services, Division of Occupational Health and Safety (DOHS), provides various services regarding certification, maintenance, repair, and decontamination of specific primary barrier equipment including Biological Safety Cabinets. For more information, contact DOHS at PrimaryBarrier@mail.nih.gov or (301) 496-3457.
Select one of the links below for more information:
Certification, Maintenance and Repair
Decontamination
Obtaining Clearance to Purchase a Biological Safety Cabinet
Certification, Maintenance and Repair
Most types of Biological Safety Cabinets (BSCs) at the NIH provide product, environmental, and personnel protection. BSCs are certified annually (every six months for pharmacy areas) according to the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF)/American National Standards Institute (ANSI) 49 (NSF/ANSI 49), which is the accepted standard for the BSC industry. Various tests are performed to verify air-flows, HEPA filter integrity, containment of contaminated cabinet air, and to ensure that the BSC is safe to operate. Maintenance and repair of BSCs is also provided, as needed. To request BSC certification or repairs, 
submit a service request. (Note: This link is only accessible on the NIH intranet.)
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Decontamination
Whenever biological safety cabinets are to be relocated or surplused, internal repairs are to be made, or when filters are to be replaced, these cabinets must be decontaminated by a DOHS technician. To arrange for decontamination, submit a service request. (Note: This link is only accessible on the NIH intranet.) Please submit a request for decontamination at least 2 weeks in advance of a move to allow appropriate lead time for scheduling.
BSC decontamination prior to removal:
- The existing BSC will need to be decontaminated prior to removal. You can submit a request for decontamination using the following Service Request link. Under normal circumstances, up to 2 weeks' notice is required to schedule a decontamination.
- Prior to decontamination: remove all equipment from inside the BSC and wipe it down with an appropriate disinfectant. The users of the BSC must clean and disinfect the catch tray under the grill.
- The decontamination process takes up to 48 hours to complete. Access to the lab during the initial decontamination process will be restricted for safety reasons.
- Once the DOHS decontamination is complete, you may not perform any further work in it.
Once the decontamination is completed:
- Fill out and attach
NIH Form 2683 Certification that Equipment is Free from Hazards, to the BSC.
- Arrange for disconnection from utility services (vacuum) with Office of Research Facilities (ORF), if needed. We recommend submitting this request early, as it can take a month or more for this to be completed. Here is the link to request disconnection of BSC to utility services: Construction Projects. Please note that you may need to email ORFBSB@mail.nih.gov to request authorization to enter design and construction work for your Institute & Center (IC).
If the BSC is being removed for surplus, contact the IC Property Custodial Officer (PCO) to report excess property. The IC PCO will initiate the process in the NIH Business System (NBS) property system. NBS generates the Excess Receival Form used to schedule the pick-up of excess property by the Property Reutilization and Disposal Section (PRDS). For additional details, please review Chapter F, Section 4 (Turn-in of Excess Property) of the NIH Personal Property Management Guide (PPMG) - Disposal Phase.
If BSC is being moved to another location, it will need to be recertified after the move is complete to protect BSC users, lab staff, and research work. Please submit a request for recertification using the following Service Request link. Submit a request to have your BSC reconnected to vacuum (if needed) using the following link: Construction Projects. Please note that you may need to email ORFBSB@mail.nih.gov to request authorization to enter design and construction work for your IC.
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Obtaining Clearance to Purchase a Biological Safety Cabinet
All purchases of biological safety cabinets for any reason and in any quantity, whether by NIH researchers or contractor supplied, require prior clearance from DOHS per NIH Manual Chapter 6307-3/26307-3 Special Clearance and Other Acquisition Procedures. The clearance is required to determine that the selected BSC is appropriate for the research being conducted and can be supported by the NIH Facilities where it is to be installed. A new BSC must be NSF 49 listed, have no UV light installed, and should not have a mechanical (motorized) stand, unless authorized beforehand by DOHS.
The NIH Supply Center Catalog offers several Class II, Type A2 BSC models for ordering by NIH laboratories and facilities (search for “biosafety cabinet"). Some BSC models have a motorized base stand. A BSC with a motorized base stand should not be ordered unless a variance has been approved by DOHS to accommodate low ceiling clearance. In addition, several Horizontal Laminar Flow Workstations (search for “laminar") are available for ordering. DOHS approval is required prior to placing an order. Please email PrimaryBarrier@mail.nih.gov for additional guidance.
If you are replacing a Class II, Type A2 BSC with another of the same class and type, the lab or facility must complete a Clearance Attestation Form for review to confirm that BSC meets NIH requirements. The completed form must be submitted to DOHS along with a quote for a new BSC using the following email: PrimaryBarrier@mail.nih.gov. If there are issues with any of the clearances, DOHS Primary Barrier Program Manager will help to work towards a solution.
Class II, Type B ducted BSCs are not available through the NIH Supply Center. There is a limited need for Class II Type B BSCs at the NIH. These BSCs are connected to the building exhaust system and require meeting specific design and operating conditions to function properly.
For additional information on BSC purchasing procedures, please contact DOHS at PrimaryBarrier@mail.nih.gov or 301-496-3457.
The following are DOHS policies related to BSC ordering:
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