ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an overview of life safety principles to give the reader guidance in applying the various codes and regulations. Codes almost always provide only minimally acceptable levels of safety. If one wishes the facility to be constructed so that its future use may be flexible, one might wish to build in additional safety features. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has developed detailed standards addressing work practices, personal protective equipment, exposure limits, and facility construction requirements. OSHA has proposed a new performance-oriented standard entitled: "Health & Safety Standards; Occupational Exposures to Toxic Substances in Laboratories". The majority of OSHA's standards associated with facility construction requirements were adopted from National Consensus Standards, such as the Life Safety Code, which were in effect when OSHA was established in 1970 by the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act. Another important consideration related to worker safety in a laboratory is the design of the lab's ventilation system.
