Because of a lapse in government funding, the information on this website may not be up to date, transactions submitted via the website may not be processed, and the agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted. The NIH Clinical Center (the research hospital of NIH) is open. For more details about its operating status, please visit cc.nih.gov. Updates regarding government operating status and resumption of normal operations can be found at opm.gov.
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, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Academy of Architecture for Health (AAH)
International Conference on Indoor Air Sciences
International Conference on Healthy Buildings
Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals
The American Industrial Hygiene 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 and Prevention [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
