Air Flow in the P2 Laboratory

P2 laboratory is a biosafety protection level two laboratory. The World Health Organization (WTO) classifies infectious microorganisms into four categories based on their pathogenicity and the degree of risk of transmission; According to the equipment and technical conditions, the biological laboratory is also divided into four levels, which are commonly referred to as P1, P2, P3, and P4 laboratories. Among them, P1 level is the lowest and P4 level is the highest.

Friends engaged in laboratory design and construction related work should know that P2 laboratory is the most widely used biosafety level laboratory in engineering. For example, during the COVID-19 epidemic, P2 laboratory played an irreplaceable role in combating the epidemic.

Regarding the usage scope of the four levels of laboratories, you can refer to the following content: P1 level laboratories are generally suitable for microbiological testing that has no pathogenic effect on healthy adults; P2 level laboratory is suitable for microbiological testing with moderate potential harm to humans and the environment; P3 level laboratory is suitable for testing pathogenic microorganisms or their toxins that primarily transmit serious or even fatal diseases to humans through respiratory pathways; P4 level laboratory is suitable for testing pathogenic microorganisms or their toxins that pose a high risk to human health, are transmitted through aerosol routes or have unknown transmission routes, and currently have no effective vaccines or treatment methods.

It can be imagined that in the early stage of the COVID-19 epidemic, most of the experimental activities on virus research should be carried out in a P4 or P3 laboratory environment, and then gradually expanded to a P2 experimental environment.

Additionally, it should be noted that under normal circumstances, P2 laboratory operates in a negative pressure environment, provided that there is a risk of contamination by pathogenic microorganisms in the laboratory air. Therefore, a circulating air system (referring to primary and secondary return air systems, etc.) should not be used, and a fresh air system with negative pressure should be used instead.

In addition, the overall regional airflow organization is within the laboratory's overall area. In order to prevent the disorderly or reverse diffusion and circulation of harmful factors, which can pollute relatively clean areas and external environments, the overall airflow direction should flow from the clean area to the polluted area, forming a directional airflow organization. In the current P2 laboratory, the larger direction is often achieved by using the clean area buffer room core workspace outdoor method. For example: buffer changing area shower room secondary changing room clean corridor preparation room semi contaminated area primary buffer wearing protective clothing secondary buffer operating room biosafety cabinet.

Suzhou Pharma Machinery Co.,Ltd.

2025/04/16

Gino