200 likes | 358 Views
Effect of Room Ventilation Rates in Rodent Rooms with Direct-Exhaust IVC Systems Roger Geertsema DVM, DACLAM, DAVCPM. Vivarium with Individual Ventilated Cages (IVC) for rodents with cage exhaust directly ventilated out of room
E N D
Effect of Room Ventilation Rates in Rodent Rooms with Direct-Exhaust IVC Systems Roger Geertsema DVM, DACLAM, DAVCPM
Vivarium with Individual Ventilated Cages (IVC) for rodents with cage exhaust directly ventilated out of room • Tecniplast IVC with positive pressure cages (70% cage exhaust rate) Background
Can room ventilation rates be safely lowered in rodent rooms utilizing direct exhaust individually-ventilated caging (IVC) • Air quality within the room that could have an occupational health or animal wellbeing effect • Changes in intracage environmental conditions that could impact animal wellbeing or complicate research results Specific Aims
8 rodent rooms 7 mouse rooms • 1 rat room • 2 ventilation rates Low: 5 – 6 ACH • High: 10 – 12 ACH Study Design
Compare Low vs. High room ventilation rates for: • Room CO2 (difference between supply - exhaust air) • Room Dew Point Temperature (difference between supply - exhaust air) • Room Mouse Allergen (Musm1) • Room Endotoxin • Intracage Ammonia, CO2, Temperature, and Humidity • Create a controlled spill of EtOH in room • Evaluate the peak level and amount of time to return to baseline at Low vs. High ventilation Study Design
Computer controlled Phoenix valves in supply and room exhaust • Monitoring of room air quality for temperature, dew point temperature, CO2, dust particles, and Total Volatile Organic Chemicals (TVOC) • Sample taken every 15 min. from room exhaust, not the cage exhaust • Ability to increase ventilation rate based on monitoring parameters Demand-Controlled Ventilation (DCV)
Low ventilation rate: • Slightly increased level of CO2 • Slightly increased Dew Point Temperature • Increased time to clear a VOC spill (demand-controlled ventilation will mitigate this) • No difference in: • Musm1 • Endotoxin • Intracageammonia, CO2, temperature, and humidity Summary of Results
It is safe to lower the room ventilation rate to 5 – 6 ACH both for human workers and animals with a direct exhaust IVC system that is properly designed and maintained - This may not apply to all IVC systems • Although some statistically significant effects were observed, air quality still well within acceptable guidelines(ASHRAE limit for CO2 in room airis 1000 ppm) • With a demand-controlled ventilation system, the air is cleared of a spilled VOC faster (assuming the VOC is able to be detected by the system) Conclusions
ACLAM Foundation Grant • Dr. Lindsell, Matthew Gudorf, Alvin Samala, Scott Smith, & Michael Phelan Acknowledgements