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Indoor Environm e nt C e nte r >> Ae robiological Engine e ring >> Airborne Pathoge n C ontrol Te chnologie s >> Isolation Syste m s

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Aerobiological Engineering Topics Airborne Pathogen Database Airborne Pathogen Control Technologies Isolation Systems Air Filtration Ultraviolet Irradiation Outdoor Air Purging Electrostatic Precipitation Negative Air Ionization Vegetation Photocatalytic Oxidation Air Ozonation Carbon Adsorption Passive Solar Exposure Ultrasonic Atomization Microwave Atomization Pulsed Light Equipment and Services Publications Contact Information

Isolation Rooms & Pressurization Control

Isolation syste m s can be classifie d in thre e basic cate gorie s : Ne gative Pre ssure Isolation R oom s Positive Pre ssure Isolation R oom s Multi-le ve l Biohazard Laboratorie s Also, dual-purpose syste m s now e x ist that can be controlle d to se rve as e ithe r ne gative pre ssure or positive pre ssure isolation room s. The isom e tric vie w shown be low illustrate s the basic de sign principle for pre ssure control of isolation room s. It include s an ante room for se parating the isolation room from the corridor of the facility. In this diagram , air is supplie d to the isolation room and e x hauste d from both the isolation room and the ante room . The balance of airflow, or the diffe re nce be twe e n be twe e n supply and e x haust, will dictate whe the r the room e x pe rie nce s positive or ne gative pre ssure with re spe ct to am bie nt. In this

diagram , air would flow be twe e n the isolation room and the ante room , m ostly through the gaps in and around the door. For a positive pre ssure room the air would flow from the isolation room to the ante room , whe re it would be e x hauste d partly by the e x haust duct and partly by flowing out to the corridor. In a ne gative pre ssure room , air would flow from the ante room to the isolation room . Pre ssure control is m aintaine d by m odulating the m ain supply and e x haust dam pe rs base d on a signal from a pre ssure transduce r locate d inside the isolation room . This is by no m e ans the only possible de sign -- the re are various configurations of supply and e x haust ductwork , dam pe rs and control syste m s that will accom plish pre ssurization. Nega i e P e e I ola ion Room

Ne gative Pre ssure Isolation R oom s m aintain a flow of air into the room , thus k e e ping contam inants and pathoge ns from re aching surrounding are as. The m ost com m on application in the he alth industry today is for Tube rculosis (TB) R oom s. The infe ctivity of TB is e x tre m e ly high and the se room s are e sse ntial to prote ct he alth work e rs and othe r patie nts.

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T C DC TB R , TB R . T HEPA (H P , . A . U G UV , I (UVGI), HEPA HEPA , . T . I , 100 , 10% , 50 . T . Positive Pressure Isolation Rooms P P I HIV R , . D TB R R UVGI . A TB R . A TB, . O (HIV) (TB) , , . A (HIV) . E . Pressuri ation Control in Buildings T ( . I HEPA . A , , . B . I , ( , ( ( ( / ) , . T ). A '++'), '- -'). T , , , , . S , , , , UVGI ) . I , , TB , , HEPA , , , 15% AIDS . A HEPA HIV R HIV , R , . T . F 0.001" , , , A ) E . A 6-12 (AC H)

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individually for e ach facility. The unlabe le d room s in the diagram above could be laboratorie s, which usually have inde pe nde ntly ope rating e x haust hoods or se parate ve ntilation syste m s. If not, the y would be ge ne rally be de signe d as double ne gative pre ssurization are as. Bioha ard Laboratories Biohazard laboratorie s are m e re ly isolation room s with strict re quire m e nts de fining the ir de gre e of airtightne ss, pre ssurization and associate d e quipm e nt. The re are four biohazard le ve ls, in le ve l 1 de fine s a sim ple isolate d are a, and in which le ve l 4 de fine s a ne ar pe rfe ctly airtight zone re quiring bre athing apparatus and airtight ante room s or staging are as. Spe cific inform ation on laboratory de sign is wide ly available from various source s, including ANSI, ASHR AE and the C DC . Bibliograph

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ANSI (1992). Am e rican national standard for laboratory ve ntilation. Ne w York , Am e rican National Standards Institute . AIA (1993). Guide line s for construction and e quipm e nt of hospital and m e dical facilitie s. Me chanical Standards. Am e rican Institute of Archite cts. W ashington. ASHR AE (1991). He alth Facilitie s. ASHR AE Handbook of Applications. ASHR AE. Atlanta. ASHR AE (1996). De signing HVAC syste m s for hospital isolation room s. ASHR AE Short C ourse . Atlanta, ASHR AE.

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Bartholom e w, D. (1994). TB control in hospitals. Engine e re d Syste m s July: 52-53. Bloom , B. R . (1994). Tube rculosis : Pathoge nisis, Prote ction, and C ontrol. W ashington, ASM Pre ss. Blowe rs, R . and B.C re w (1960). Ve ntilation of ope rating-the atre s. Journal of Hygie ne 58: 427448.

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Brie f, R . S. and T. Be rnath (1988). Indoor pollution: guide line s for pre ve ntion and control of m icrobiological re spiratory hazards associate d with air conditioning and ve ntilation syste m s. Appl. Indust. Hyg. 3: 5-10. C DC (1994). Guide line s for pre ve nting the transm ission of Mycobacte rium tube rculosis in he althcare facilitie s. Fe de ral R e giste r. C DC . W ashington, US Govt. Printing O ffice . 59. Galson, E. and K. Goddard (1968). Hospital air conditioning and se psis control. ASHR AE 10(7): 33-41. Galson, E. (1987). Facility m icrobiological te st proce dure s. ASHR AE Transactions 93(1): 12891303. Galson, E. and J. Guisbond (1995). Hospital se psis control and TB transm ission. ASHR AE May. Gill, K. E. (1994). HVAC de sign for isolation room s. HPAC July: 45-52. Gre e ne , V. W ., D. Ve sle y, e t al. (1960). The e ngine e r and infe ction control. Hospitals 34: 6974.

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He rs, J. F. P. and K. C . W ink le r (1973). Airborne Transm ission and Airborne Infe ction. VIth Inte rnational Sym posium on Ae robiology, Te chnical Unive rsity at Ensche de , The Ne the rlands, O osthoe k Publishing C om pany. IC C C S (1992). The Future Practice of C ontam ination C ontrol. Proce e dings of the 11th Inte rnational Sym posium on C ontam ination C ontrol, W e stm inste r, Me chanical Engine e ring Publications.

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Kunk le , R . S. and G. B. Phillips (1969). Microbial C ontam ination C ontrol Facilitie s. Ne w York , Van Nostrand R e inhold. Lidwe ll, O . M. and R .E.O .W illiam s (1960). The ve ntilation of ope rating-the atre s. Journal of Hygie ne 58: 449-464.

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Lidwe ll, O . M. (1960). The e valuation of ve ntilation. J. Hygie ne 58: 297-305. Linscom b, M. (1994). AIDS clinic HVAC syste m lim its spre ad of TB. HPAC Fe bruary. Malone y, S. A., M. L. Pe arson, e t al. (1995). Efficacy of control m e asure s in pre ve nting nosocom ial transm ission of m ultidrug-re sistant tube rculosis to patie nts and he alth care work e rs. Annals of Inte rnal Me dicine 122(2): 90-95. Mille r-Le ide n, S., C . Lobascio and W .W .Nazaroff (1996). Effe ctive ne ss of in-room air filtration and dilution ve ntilation for tube rculosis infe ction control. Journal of the Air and W aste Manage m e nt Association 46(9): 869. R ile y, R . L. and F. O 'Grady (1961). Airborne Infe ction. Ne w York , The Macm illan C om pany. R ubbo, S. D., T. A. Pre ssle y, e t al. (1960). Ve hicle s of transm ission of airborne bacte ria in hospital wards. The Lance t 7147: 397-400. Se agal-Maure r, S. and G. E. Kalk ut (1994). Environm e ntal control of tube rculosis: C ontinuing controve rsy. C linical Infe ctious Dise ase s 19: 299-308. Sullivan, J. F., J.R .Songe r (1966). R ole of diffe re ntial air pre ssure zone s in the control of ae rosols in a large anim al isolation facility. Applie d Microbiology 14(4): 674-678. W e dum , A. G. (1961). C ontrol of laboratory airborne infe ction. Bacte r. R e v. 25: 210-216. W e inste in, R . A. (1991). Epide m iology and control of nosocom ial infe ctions in adult inte nsive care units. The Am e rican Journal of Me dicine 91(suppl 3B): 179S-184S. W inte rs, R . E. (1994). Guide line s for pre ve nting the transm ission of tube rculosis: A be tte r solution? C linical Infe ctious Dise ase s 19: 309-310. :: C opyright Info :: 2008 The Pe nnsylvania State Unive rsity

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