Share
Media contact: Belinda Donovan, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , CD&M Communications, 207-774-7528
The Baker Company's Biological Safety Cabinets Certified Earthquake Safe
Date: 04/01/09
April 2009—(Sanford, ME)--Laboratory workers are often faced with the unpredictable. But when they are working with bio-hazards or infectious agents, the functionality of their biological safety cabinet must never be compromised. The Baker Company creates biological safety cabinets that are made to deliver total confidence through a generous performance envelope, and now safety is ensured even through seismic events. The Baker Company's entire line of SterilGARD® biosafety cabinets has recently been certified as earthquake-safe. Spurred by new standards in California, this level of performance should be valuable to labs in all earthquake prone areas.
"Our cabinets are being used by people working with hazardous materials and infectious diseases," said David Eagleson, President of the Baker Company. "These assurances can be critical for the viability of research, and, more importantly, the health and safety of the people in the laboratory."
Testing occurred at Trentec Inc. in Cincinnati, Ohio, one of only two facilities in the country accredited by IAS (International Accreditation Service) to test units to the ICC-ES AC156 criteria (Seismic Qualification by Shake-Table Testing of Nonstructural Components and Systems). The testing process involved exposing the cabinets to three different levels of vibration (simulating a seismic event), on a “shake table," at approximately 30 second intervals.
The certification required that the unit remained intact and operational during the seismic episodes. In addition, a post-seismic operability test was performed to validate that the units remained operable after a simulated earthquake. Both of the units tested, the SterilGARD 603a and the SterilGARD 603a TX modelspassed the rigorous process.
"Nothing proves the durability of a biological safety cabinet quite like seismic tests," said Eagleson. "In addition to becoming certified, a byproduct of the process is that the tests really showcase our products' quality and craftsmanship. That's essential to our customers, regardless if they work in an earthquake-prone area."
The Baker Company plans to expand shake-table testing to other product lines. In addition, The Baker Company has each of its product designs assessed and P.E. approved by an engineering firm specializing in seismic evaluation. “The Baker Company sets the industry standard for design and manufacturing. We do whatever it takes to make certain that our customers and operators are safe through a variety of conditions,” said Eagleson.
