Air permeability testing of isolation facilities

Air permeability testing of isolation facilities (BTS 3/2018) was written by Blanca Beato Arribas and Tom Jones and published by BSRIA in 2018.

An isolation suite can be formed of several adjacent rooms, including an entrance lobby, the patient’s room and en-suite facilities and, on some occasions, other rooms such as an exit lobby and an instrument room. Air leakage in isolation suites needs to be minimised to reduce the risk of infection. Air leakage to or from an isolation suite translates into unaccounted-for airborne pathogens travelling from or to other hospital areas.

This standard recommends limits for the overall air leakage of isolation suites in healthcare facilities and also gives recommendations on how to measure air leakage through paths such as doors and door grilles, allowing for comparison against the design specifications.

Air leakage in isolation suites needs to be minimised to reduce the risk of infection. Air leakage to or from an isolation suite translates into unaccounted-for airborne pathogens travelling from or to other hospital areas. The design of the isolation suite should take into account the airflows through the doors, grilles, pressure stabilisers, supply and extract grilles and other components and the air leakage through the envelope. The successful operation of an isolation suite requires the air permeability to be within its required criterion and the airflow through known air leakage paths to be within defined limits.

Contents:

• Introduction
• Specifications
• Test procedure
• Test regime
• Test report
• Appendix A: Calculation of specific leakage rate
• Appendix B: Calculation of leakage through individual elements
• Appendix C: Calculation of leakage through doors

The standard can be downloaded free from https://www.bsria.com/uk/product/BA8E4D/air_permeability_testing_of_isolation_facilities_bts_32018_a15d25e1/

BSRIA

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings

• Air change rate.
• Air permeability in isolation rooms.
• Air permeability testing.
• Air permeability.
• BSRIA articles on Designing Buildings Wiki.
• Clean indoor air for healthy living - New air filter standards.
• Design of isolation rooms for infection control.
• Hospital isolation rooms.
• Indoor air quality.