The overall objective of this proposal is to improve environmental quality for animals housed in the Department of Environmental Medicine Satellite Animal Facility (DEMSAF) of NYU School of Medicine and to improve the facilities for experiments with hazardous substances. The first major goal is to bring the animal facility in compliance with standards (PHS Guide, AAALAC) for adequate climate control, (bio)hazard containment, and support space with the following proposed projects: Project #1: Construction of adequate individual room temperature control and adequate humidity control; Project #2: Construction of a suite of two adjacent ABSL-2 rooms with an anteroom that gives access to a pass-through autoclave; Project #3: Construction of a chemical containment room (ABLS-2+ level) with anterooms located such that equipment can be directly rolled into the cage/rack washer. The second major goal is to establish adequate barrier capabilities to support the substantially changed research needs (increased numbers of valuable genetically modified mice) with Project #4: Construction of a barrier in the facility corridor to create a single corridor barrier facility within-the-facility that (a) encompasses most animal rooms, the feed storage area, the clean side of the cage/rack washer and the receiving area for animals, feed, and bedding, and (b) separates these areas from the """"""""dirty"""""""" side of the cage/rack washer, waste areas, and inhalation & procedure areas. The third major goal is to consolidate the Animal and Inhalation Facilities in the same area in a highly integrated manner and to improve the climate control and sanitation of the inhalation chambers. The Animal and Inhalation Facilities in which animals are exposed for inhalation toxicology/carcinogenesis studies are not adjacent, resulting in frequent transportation of animals, clean and dirty equipment, and waste through common hallways serving laboratories and offices. This has a serious negative impact on the quality of the research and a safe environment. Also, there is potential for wild rodent contact in the current inhalation facility, and there are deficiencies in temperature-humidity of the inhalation chamber air supply and temperature of water used for sanitation of these chambers in which animals are housed for hours to weeks. With Project #5 we propose construction of an temperature-humidity-controlled air supply, a hot water supply for sanitation, and exhaust systems to support 12-13 existing whole body inhalation chambers that will be moved to laboratory rooms directly adjacent to animal housing rooms that are located behind the proposed barrier (project #4) so that animals can be moved in and out of these chambers without leaving the barrier.
