[Histonet] Basement Lab

[Lee & Peggy Wenk]

You need to meet with the architect, and engineer, and the fire marshal. And 
they need to be knowledgeable about the chemicals, etc. that will be 
stored/used in the lab area, and any rules/regulations in your country/area 
that relate to building labs.

The laws have changed in many locations, so that they want the fire 
department to have easy access to the lab, in case of a fire. Think of all 
the flammables we have - how many gallons of alcohol, xylene, acetone, etc. 
Most of us are already in the basement, so we are grandfathered in. But 
anyone building a new lab, or an addition to a lab, will be under the new 
rules. Most of the time, they want the lab built on the 1st or 2nd floor, so 
the fire hoses don't have to be dragged up or down stairs or ladders. And 
they want the lab on a outside wall, again, so the fire fighters don't have 
to be hauling hoses into the middle of a building. And the outside wall 
can't be near where people will be walking by, in case there is a chemical 
blow out of the wall.

That being said, that doesn't mean that labs can't be built in the basement 
or, say, on the 5th floor. There are just a lot of additional conditions - 
walls, floors and ceiling that are thicker and can resist being burned 
through for longer periods of time, denser doors for fire resistance, 
automatic sprinkler systems that are closer together,etc.

So again, you need to meet with people who are knowledgeable about the type 
and amount of flammable chemicals that are going to be used in that area, 
and the laws that govern safety for building labs.

Peggy A. Wenk, HTL(ASCP)SLS

-----Original Message----- 
From: John Smallwood
Sent: Saturday, May 03, 2014 12:10 PM
To: histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Subject: [Histonet] Basement Lab

   Our small Hospital with growth plans, is considering a new Laboratory in 
the basement of the planned tower. I consider this a less than desirable 
location. Spills , fumes, chemical allotments etc. What are Histonet members 
thoughts and ideas ??

Than you,
John Smallwood, MLT.
London, Ont. Can.
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