4 Ways a Professional Lab Decontamination Can Save You Money

Clorox bottle open   testLab decontamination can happen for several reasons. Maybe it’s necessary to maintain regulatory compliance. Maybe it’s mandated by your landlord upon move out.  With fuzzy guidelines on laboratory decontamination compliance and leases that are often vague about this aspect of the move out process, many people question whether performing a lab decontamination provides any real benefit.

Lab decontaminations are more than just common courtesy. In fact, a lab decontamination and decommissioning can have your back financially when nothing else does. Whether you’re decontaminating a lab you’re moving into or one you’re moving out of, a decontamination can potentially save you a lot of money in the long run. Here are a few examples. 

Regulatory Fines

The sterilization of your lab is necessary to the safety of your employees and, consequently is considered a necessity in some ways by OSHA laboratory safety. There are regulations covering everything from airborne pathogens to improper chemical storage and contaminated services. In terms of lab decontamination, OSHA states several instances when a decontamination should occur.  If you fail to comply with laboratory safety regulations, OSHA could cite violations upwards of tens of thousands of dollars.  

Unfortunately, there’s no set regulatory guidance on a proper lab decontamination. To help guide your decontamination in the right direction, we recommend learning following ANSI decommisioning standards or hiring professionals that can do just that.   

Absent Workers

In entering a used lab, there are certain liabilities you are opening yourself up to. Lack of knowledge regarding housekeeping, residual chemicals and more about the previous tenant could open you up to instant costs at your new facility. Not decontaminating a previously used lab can sometimes be a mistake. If you’re at all weary about the condition of the lab, decontaminating it is probably a good idea. A lab decontamination can prevent unnecessary illnesses and injuries that can lead to absent employees and all the dollars with it.

Redo Work

In a similar fashion, work research and studies completed in an unsterile environment cancompromise the integrity of the study. Realizing that an environment is not as it seems due to contaminated surfaces can lead to having to redo entire segments of research or even entire projects. This means paying double what was intended for labor and some materials.

Fines from the Landlord

If you’re moving from one lab to another, be sure to decontaminate the lab you’re moving out of. Most leases state that a space should be left “clean.” While what this means exactly is often up to interpretation, most would agree that a lab contaminated with dangerous chemicals is not “clean.” Landlords don’t want to put their new tenants in danger (and neither do you, hopefully). Improper lab decontamination can result in legal action and a multitude of expenses including lawyers, legal fees, damages and a decontamination.

View our complete, downloadable checklist to help you make sure your lab is decontaminated properly.