The recent Coronavirus Pandemic has demonstrated the dangers that potential laboratory breaches could pose. As many of us know the World Health Organisation found that Wuhan’s Institute of Virology had been conducting experiments on bat coronavirus in 2019. It quickly became a theory that the pandemic had started due to a leak. It has since been said that this is unlikely to have been the cause but it does pose the question of security in laboratories and the potential harm that can be caused by a security breach.
Security has become an important component of laboratory operations. Good security can lessen a number of risks, such as; theft of critical or high value equipment, theft of chemicals or materials that could be used for illegal activities, accidental release of hazardous materials or viruses, sabotage of chemicals or high value equipment, the release of sensitive information, unauthorised laboratory experimentation and threats from activist groups.
With so many risks you would assume that laboratory security would be very tight however Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, who led the British Army’s responses to anthrax, sarin and chlorine gas attacks in Iraq and Syria stated that “people have only paid lip service” to the biological weapons convention. He also said “I think we need to see biological hazards as an existential threat to the 21st century in the same way that atomic science was in the 20th century”
At Warrior Doors we have a long track record working on bespoke physical security projects. Critical Infrastructure projects can often be highly confidential and time-sensitive, as a result, we treat them as such. Our stainless-steel high-security doors are certified up to LPS 1175 SR4 through LPCB at BRE. With our in-house design team, we are able to provide a hands-on and high level of service.
We know how important it is to allow access to authorized personnel only in laboratories, that is why we work with access control companies to provide a secure system. If you already have access controls or a particular company in mind we can work with whatever system you’d like. Another great way to ensure that only authorised people can enter is through an interlocking system. A person can walk through the first door and then request access to go through the second into the lab. This allows vision of anyone entering before they enter.
Finally, a huge aspect of laboratory security is hygiene. As we know door handles are high use touchpoints, if your lab is testing viruses limiting touchpoints is important to reduce the possibility of spread. To avoid the use of door handles we have a range of sliding doors. Currently, we have the only fully glazed LPS 1175 SR3 sliding door on the market.
All of our doors can come in a variety of finishes as well as styles from fully stainless-steel through to fully glazed.
Do you have a special project within Critical Infrastructure that you would like to discuss with us? Please call our team today on 0121 706 8400 for a confidential conversation.
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