Page 39 - The Veterinary Laboratory and Field Manual 3rd Edition

8 Susan C. Cork, Roy Halliwell and Willy Schauwers

health regulations that will need to be taken into Power supply: electricity and gas
consideration before the laboratory is built. Most
laboratories will require a sump tank and septic A reliable power supply is essential for the effi-
tank for waste water and sewage to avoid contam- cient running of a laboratory.
ination of local water supplies and waterways.
Some biohazardous waste may be taken away by ELEctrIcIty
municipal authorities but this service is often not Electricity is generally provided by the following
available in remote areas. Toxic chemicals should sources:
be stored in containment facilities until suit- • municipal power
able bulk disposal can be identified. Carcasses • fuel generator
and biological wastes that cannot be incinerated • dry alkaline batteries
will need to be disposed of in a specially built • solar energy panels.
biological pit as illustrated in Figure 1.4.
In most central veterinary diagnostic labora-
tories, the power supply is likely to be from a
Services municipal electricity grid system. This source
may not be available or reliable in remote rural
The laboratory will not function effectively if the areas.
relevant services are not available for the routine When the quality of the power source is
day-to-day work in the facility, that is, reliable irregular (power surges, voltage drops), sensi-
water and power supply. Transport and commu- tive equipment such as computers, microscopes
nication will be considered later. and freezers should be linked up to a power

Figure 1.2 Simplified ground plan for a regional laboratory. Note that the flow of specimens in the labora-
tory should generally be split between the ‘clean’ and ‘dirty’ areas. The latter includes the post-mortem
and parasitology sections. The size and design for a district laboratory will depend on work requirements,
budget and animal health priorities identified in an area.

Vet Lab.indb 8 26/03/2019 10:25