BSC Certification and Maintenance

The operational integrity of a new BSC must be validated before it is put into service or after a cabinet has been repaired or relocated.  Manipulating a BSC may break the HEPA filter seals or otherwise damage the filters or the cabinet.

Biological safety cabinets in laboratories and in animal care facilities approved for BSL2 and BSL3 experiments must be tested and certified annually by a qualified service person.  Any repairs or maintenance work must also be contracted outside the University.

Biological safety cabinets belong to researchers and are not automatically certified by Facilities Management or University Health and Safety (UHS). Each laboratory must make arrangements for initial and annual certification of the BSC.

The University does not endorse any specific certification service, but the certifiers must hold NSF-49 certification. The following companies offer BSC certification services in the Twin Cities: