Open-plan laboratories, sound insulation and the requirements of the GenTSV

Whether building new laboratories or redesigning existing ones, the trend in molecular biology is toward open-plan laboratories. The advantages of this development are plausible: Synergistic use of space and equipment with short walking distances and more interactive communication options, even in the experimental "wet lab" area. These are the requirements expressed by scientific practitioners. These are structurally enabled in the open-plan laboratory. If, in addition, equipment-heavy ancillary rooms can be integrated into the large laboratory space, transport routes between genetic engineering laboratories, which were previously divided into small parcels, are also reduced. The principle of "containment of genetic engineering," logically required by genetic engineering legislation, is thus even more consistently implemented in the spatial arrangement of a molecular biology building.

However, there are disadvantages, especially with regard to soundproofing. Where there are many devices and where more people work and communicate in each room, noise accumulates. Therefore, soundproofing elements are essential, especially in the ceiling area of ​​such large laboratories. Such elements work physically and primarily by the sound-absorbing properties of uneven surfaces.

Such surfaces are inherently difficult to clean and disinfect. However, both of these points are required as essential safety measures for laboratories in the Genetic Engineering Safety Ordinance (GenTSV), which states the following in Annex 2 to Section 14 under a): “(2) Work surfaces and the surfaces adjacent to work surfaces, in particular wall surfaces, floors and furniture, should be easy to clean and must be resistant to the substances used as well as to cleaning and disinfection agents.” Since the ceiling areas where soundproofing is usually installed do not represent such surfaces, the criterion of cleanability and disinfectability is not an exclusion criterion. This makes sense, too, because, at least in the S1 laboratory, this disinfectability primarily aims to prevent the spread of contamination. However, during normal operation, one does not come into contact with a room ceiling. Furthermore, since contamination on ceilings is unlikely, this limitation to work surfaces and adjacent areas in the GenTSV is well thought out.

Conclusion: In S1 laboratories, the ceiling-mounted installation of soundproofing elements is possible even if these surfaces contain cavities and are therefore difficult to clean. The GenTSV limits the requirements regarding cleaning and disinfection to work surfaces and adjacent areas.