The Office of Research Facilities (ORF) collaborates on bioenvironmental research to improve indoor air quality and save energy in biomedical laboratories, and animal research and health care facilities. The Principal Investigator for Research Facilities is Dr. Farhad Memarzadeh (fm30c@nih.gov). The results of these studies have been adopted as national and international standards for labs and hospitals. Among the organizations, institutions and conferences that have adopted or use ORF-applied facility studies are

• American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

• American Society of Heating and Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)

• The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Academy of Architecture for Health

• International Conference on Indoor Air Sciences

• International Conference on Healthy Buildings

• Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals
  

• American Industrial Hygienist Association (AIHA)

• National Institute of Building Sciences Whole Building Design Guide (WBDG)

• University engineering and health and safety programs

• Other federal agencies and departments (Centers for Disease Control [CDC], Department of Energy [DOE], Department of Administration [DOA], Food and Drug Administration [FDA], etc.)
  

 

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Following are links to the studies:

• Adding Amines to Steam for Humidification JCHAS July/August 2014  (860KB) 508 

• Analysis of Air Supply Type and Exhaust Location in Laboratory Animal Research Facilities Using CFD ASHRAE Transactions 2000 V. 106, Pt. 1   (904KB) 508

• Analysis of Efficacy of UVGI Inactivation of Airborne Organisms Using Eulerian and Lagrangian Approaches IAQ 2004  (418KB) 508

• Applications of ultraviolet germicidal irradiation disinfection in health care facilities: Effective adjunct, but not stand-alone technology Am J Infect Control 2010 38:S13-24  (328KB) 508 

• Assessing the Efficacy of Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation and Ventilation in Removing Mycobacterium Tuberculosis- ( Handbook ) 508

• BSL-4 Pressure Decay Equivalency Test NIH DRM Dec 2006  (199KB) 508

• BSL-4 Pressure Decay Equivalency Test Correction for Pressure and Temperature NIH September 2009  (99KB) 508

• Comparison of Environment and Mice in Static and Mechanically Ventilated Isolator Cages with Different Air Velocity and Ventilation Design Contemporary Topics AALAS January 2004 V. 43, No. 1 I   (496KB) 508

• Comparison of Operating Room Ventilation Systems in the Protection of the Surgical Site ASHRAE Transactions 2002, V. 108, Pt. 2.  (963KB) 508

• Control of Ammonia Production in Animal Research Facilities Through Ventilation System Design ASHRAE Transactions 2005  V. 111, Part 2   (874KB) 508

• Controlling Lab IAQ and Energy Cost HPAC October 2007  (545KB) 508

• Design of a Specialized Airborne-Infection Isolation Suite HPAC February 2011  (1.7MB) 508

• Effect of Operation Room Geometry and Ventilation System Parameter Variations on the Protection of the Surgical Site IAQ 2004  (527KB) 508

• Effect of reducing ventilation rate on indoor air quality and energy cost in laboratories JCHAS, September/October 2000 V.16, No.5  (971KB) 508

• Effects of Air Changes Per Hour (ACH) on Particle Size Building and Environment 2015 246-255  (917KB) 508 

• Energy Efficient Laboratory Design: A Novel Approach to Improve Indoor Air Quality and Thermal Comfort  Applied Biosafety 2007 V. 12, No. 3   (1.01MB) 508

• Experimental Study of Ventilation Performance in laboratories with chemical spills Building and Environment 57 2012 327e335  (1.88MB) 508

• Helium Reclamation System White Paper NIH November 2018(297KB) 508 
  

• Health and safety risk assessment methodology to calculate reverse airflow tolerance in a biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) or airborne infection isolation room (AII) environment Int. J. Risk Assessment and Management 2010 V. 14, Nos. 1/2,  (398KB) 508

• Laboratory Water-Its Importance and Application NIH March 2013  (844KB) 508

• Literature Review of the Effect of Temperature and Humidity on Viruses ASHRAE Transactions 2011 V. 117, Part 2  (365KB) 508

• Investigation of Static in Wind Tunnel Tests and Validation of CFD Cage Model Microisolators in Wind Tunnel Tests and Validation of CFD Cage Model ASHRAE Transactions 2000, V. 106, Pt. 1  (841KB) 508

• Mass Generation Rates of Ammonia, Moisture and Heat Production in Mouse Cages with Two Bedding Types, Two Mouse Strains, and Two Room Relative Humidities ASHRAE Transactions, V. 112  2006  Part 1  (606KB) 508

• Methodology for Minimizing Risk from Airborne Organisms in Hospital Isolation Rooms ASHRAE Transactions: Symposia January 2000   (1.1MB) 508

• Methodology for Optimization of Laboratory Hood Containment - Volumes I and II( Handbook ) 508

• NIH - Section 15991 Onsite Testing for Constant Volume Fume Hoods - June 2006  (162KB) 508

• NIH - Section 15992 Onsite Testing for Variable Volume Fume Hoods - June 2006  (224KB) 508

• Particulate concentrations within a reduced-scale room operated at various air exchange rates Building and Environment 65 2013 71e80  (846KB) 508

• Reducing Risks of Surgery ASHRAE Journal February 2003  (654KB) 508

• Role of air changes per hour (ACH) in possible transmission of airborne infections Build Simul 2012 V.5: 15 –28  (1.1MB) 508

• Room Ventilation and Airborne Disease Transmission The American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE) & The Facility Guidelines Institute 2013  (422MB) 508

• Stainless Steel Trap Corrosion White Paper  (601KB) 508

• Testing and performance verification methodologies for ventilation systems for Biological Safety Level 3(BSL-3) laboratories JCHAS, March/April 2012  (520KB) 508

• The Effects of Patient Movement on Particles Dispersed by Coughing in an Indoor Environment Applied Biosafety Vol. 19, No. 4, 2014  (2MB) 508 

• The Environment of Care and Health Care-Associated Infections The American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE) &  The Facility Guidelines Institute January 2011  (19.4MB) 508

• Thermal Comfort, Uniformity, and Ventilation Effectiveness in Patient Rooms: Performance Assessment Using Ventilation Indices ASHRAE Transactions: Symposia  (1.1MB) 508 

• Ventilation Design Handbook on Animal Research Facilities Using Static - Volumes I and II Microisolators - Volumes I and II ( Handbook ) 508

• Ventilation Design in Animal Research Facilities Using Static Microisolators ASHRAE Transactions 2000, V. 106, Pt. 1.  (521KB) 508 

• Ventilation Strategy for Laboratories HPAC Engineering August 2007  (1.2MB) 508

• Verification of Biological Safety Level 3 Labs Science, Safety, Security Newsletter September 2014 Issue 5  (207KB) 508