Set up partitions as in Fig 5, using aluminium and glass panelling. Put aluminium or cement brick up to 1.2 meters from the floor and then glass up to the ceiling. At ceiling level all the panels should fit tightly and be sealed with appropriate material to prevent air leaks that may lead to contaminations.
All doors to be of aluminium /glass, opening outward. The door marked A should have a width of 150 cm and the doors marked B a width of 130 cm to allow large equipment to be carried in. Other doors could be of standard size.
Fix the central workbench in the main laboratory as indicated in the layout diagram. (Fig. 5). There should be cupboards and drawers under the benches.
Construct workbenches along the wall in the glassware washing room, culture maintenance room, media preparation rooms and in the main laboratory. These should be 90 cm (height) x 90 cm (width) and suit the length to the walls as in Fig. 5. They may be of concrete or wood with push-in cupboards and drawers underneath.
All bench and table tops in the testing laboratory, culture maintenance room, media preparation room and washing room need to be laid with granite, formica or a similar non-porous material.
The testing laboratory, the media preparation room and the culture maintenance room need to be air-conditioned to maintain a continuous temperature of 25 oC and RH (55 + 5)%.
In locations where an uninterrupted power supply is not available day and night, a backup generator with automatic switch gear needs to be used.
The floor of the testing laboratory, the media preparation room and culture maintenance room should be done with epoxy resin. In all other areas, use smooth floor tiles, preferably white and of dimension 30cm x 30 cm.
The locations for electricity outlets for 15 amps and 3-phase supply are indicated in Fig 6. Provide adequate lighting, using fluorescent or low energy bulbs to provide light intensity of 750 lux. The lights should be fixed at ceiling level and not hanging (to avoid collection and release of dust).
Locations of sinks are given in Fig 5. Stainless steel sinks are preferred. In the washing room a sink with a draining board will be more useful. It is preferable to fix two-way or three-way laboratory type taps for the sinks.
The water delivered to the laboratories should be at a minimum pressure of 2.0 bar (Where the pressure of the public supply is low and not continuous, install an overhead tank at 11metre height (equivalent of approximately the 4th floor of a building).
The gas lines should carry two-way or four-way taps. The supply tank should be located outside the laboratory with suitable safety valves and protection from mishandling.
All water exhaust down pipes from the sinks should be of 50 mm diameter leading down to 100 mm diameter horizontal pipes with no bends, and opening directly out of the laboratory so that they can be cleaned from outside.
All surfaces in the testing laboratory, culture room and media preparation room where dust could accumulate (window panes and sharp corners in the floor) need to be made at an angle and curved.
No pipelines and conduits should be laid on the surface of the floor or along the surface of walls in the laboratories as they permit dust and dirt to accumulate and are impossible to clean. They should be embedded.
Storage cupboards for glassware and chemicals should be put up at appropriate places above 1.6 meters on the walls in the testing laboratory, washing room, sampling room and media preparation room (height 100 cm x depth 45 cm).
Tint the glass windows in the outer walls to prevent direct sunlight entering the laboratory
There should be no ceiling fans in the testing laboratories and the ceilings should be smooth.
Extraction fans may be fixed in washing and media preparation room, but kept closed except during operation.
Enamel paints are preferable on the walls since they can be washed.
The proposed layout of equipment is given in Fig. 7.
