Each laboratory and clean room has unique design requirements, but every functional lab combines fixtures, utilities, security systems and mechanical systems in an efficient, flexible and pleasant working environment. Burns & McDonnell's in-house professionals have designed more than 200 successful new and renovated medical, pharmaceutical, chemical and industrial labs. We offer you the technical expertise and experience required to create the facility you need.

Keys to Our Laboratory & Clean Room Design

• Flexibility: Long before design begins, our architects, engineers, planners and environmental specialists help you establish your requirements. By interviewing your lab stakeholders — from director to technicians — our designers will help you shape your facility's physical and aesthetic goals and objectives. We carefully analyze your traffic flow, space needs, type and number of analyses, standard testing methods, lab safety, and equipment and regulatory requirements, a crucial first step in turning the vision of your lab into steel, concrete and glass, utilities, and systems.
• Quality: Our clients receive thorough and accurate space planning coordinated with all the complex electrical, mechanical and structural engineering systems needed. Our comprehensive in-house consulting services ensure that responsibility for your project lies with Burns & McDonnell as your single source. We provide a design team that responds rapidly to changes, communicates easily and shares accountability. We deliver a final design that benefits from having all disciplines coordinated under one roof. Our designs have been recognized by the IESNA, DBIA, ACEC and ASHRAE.
• Experience: Our client list covers a range of industries and includes such entities as Abbott; Baxter; Brooks Air Force Base; DuPont/PTI; Shell Oil; Monsanto; Pfizer; Pharmacia; GD Searle; GlaxoSmithKline; King Pharmaceutical; Meridian Medical Technologies; MEMC Electronic Materials; St. Louis University; Tyco Healthcare/Mallinckrodt; University of Missouri; and the Veterans Administration Hospital.
• Breadth: Laboratory planning and clean room design are just two of the many specialties for which we are known. Our services are available from offices nationwide.

Facility Experience

• Research facilities
• Testing facilities
• Forensic laboratories
• BSL-3 and BSL-4 laboratories
• Manufacturing suites

About Burns & McDonnell:

From airports to refineries, power plants to water treatment facilities, military bases to electrical distribution, we deliver planning, design and construction expertise that creates the results our clients expect. And our culture empowers every employee-owner to fulfill our mission: Make our clients successful.

Founded in 1898, Burns & McDonnell is a 100% employee-owned firm composed of more than 2,500 engineers, architects, construction experts, planners, estimators, economists, technicians and scientists representing virtually all design disciplines. Our experts work in offices nationwide and around the globe.

Please click on the links to the right for more information or request a quote today!

Hazardous events at meth labs are on the rise, putting law enforcement and emergency response personnel at risk. A report from the Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance (HSEES) indicates that from the period 2000 to June 2004, a total of 1,791 events have occurred in the 16 states that use HSEES. In those events, nearly 960 injuries were reported.

Customer Type
Police Departments, Drug Task Force Agents, Fire Departments

Application Description
Fewer than 10% of those arrested for manufacturing meth are trained chemists. Meth laboratory operators or "cooks" usually are individuals who have little or no chemical training and simply learned the formula from other meth cooks or the internet.

Many of the chemicals found in these labs are very corrosive or flammable. The vapors that are emitted from the chemical reactions attack mucous membranes, skin, eyes, and respiratory tract. Some chemicals will react with water or other chemicals and cause a fire or explosion.

In addition to the risk of explosive gases, chemical contamination from the hazardous waste of these labs poses a serious threat to the environment and to the health of unsuspecting citizens in nearby communities. Each pound of meth manufactured in a clandestine lab generates up to 5 or more pounds of toxic waste. Clandestine lab operators routinely dump such waste into local streams, rivers, and sewage systems in order to cover up the evidence of their illegal operation. Moreover, chemical reactions that occur during the manufacture of meth produces hazardous vapors that can permeate walls, carpet, plaster and even the wooden structure of the building.

Hazardous Components of Meth Labs

Pseudoephedrine: Ingestion of doses greater than 240 mg causes hypertension, arrhythmia, anxiety, dizziness, and vomiting.  Ingestion of doses greater than 600 mg can lead to renal failure and seizures.

Acetone/ethyl alcohol: Extremely flammable, posing a fire risk in and around the laboratory.  Inhalation or ingestion of these solvents causes severe gastric irritation, narcosis, or coma.

Freon: Inhalation can cause sudden cardiac arrest or severe lung damage.  It is corrosive if ingested.

Anhydrous ammonia: A colorless gas with a pungent, suffocating odor.  Inhalation causes edema of the respiratory tract and asphyxia.  Contact with vapors damages eyes and mucous membranes.

Red phosphorus: May explode as a result of contact or friction.  Ignites if heated above 260 degrees C.  Vapor from ignited phosphorus severely irritates the nose, throat, lungs, and eyes.

Hypophosphorous acid: Extremely dangerous substitute for red phosphorus. If overheated, deadly phosphine gas is released. Poses a serious fire and explosion hazard.

Lithium metal: Extremely caustic to all body tissues.  Reacts violently with water and poses a fire or explosion hazard.

Hydriodic acid: A corrosive acid with vapors that are irritating to the respiratory system, eyes, and skin.  If ingested, causes severe internal irritation and damage that may cause death.

Iodine crystals: Give off vapor that is irritating to the respiratory system and eyes.  Solid form irritates the eyes and may burn skin. If ingested, causes severe internal damage.

Phenylpropanolamine: Ingestion of doses greater than 75 mg causes hypertension, arrhythmia, anxiety, and dizziness.  Quantities greater than 300 mg can lead to renal failure, seizures, stroke, and death.

Products used in methamphetamine production

Anhydrous Ammonia (fertilizer)
Camp Fuel
Ephedrine (cold medications)
Ether (engine starter)
Gas Line Anti-Freeze
Hydrochloric Acid (pool supply)
Iodine (flakes or crystal)
Kitty Litter
Lithium (batteries)
Lye
Methanol (gasoline additive)
Muriatic Acid
Pseudoephedrine (cold medication)
Red Phosphorus (matches or road flares)
Salt (table or rock)
Sodium Hydroxide (lye)
Sodium Metal
Sulfuric Acid (drain cleaner)
Toluene (brake cleaner)
Trichloroethane (gun cleaner)

Phosphine gas can be produced during the hydriodic acid/red phosphorus method of methamphetamine production. In the presence of water, phosphorous acid does not decompose to phosphine gas, but above 180º C, superheating occurs and aqueous components are driven off, resulting in phosphine gas production. Symptoms of phosphine inhalation include headache, fatigue, weakness, thirst, chest pain, shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, convulsions, and coma. Many meth chemists (addicts- not real chemists) also die from explosions as a result of the production process.

RKI's Solution
The EAGLE is equipped with a superior catalytic sensor that makes it capable of monitoring ppm or % LEL levels of combustible gases. By simply pushing one glove-friendly button, the display instantly changes from the % LEL range to the ppm range to detect trace amounts of combustible gases. The EAGLE also has the capability of detecting a wide range of super toxic gases including phosphine and ammonia. Having a single portable instrument with up to six different sensors is a great advantage to a police officer, drug enforcement agent, or fire department in determining the toxicity or flammability of a meth lab before any personnel enters the area.

Equipment Needed
We offer many versions of the EAGLE, which can be customized in terms of the sensors included, for law enforcement agencies. Listed below are some of the more common EAGLE configurations used for meth lab applications. Please consult the factory for other combinations.

Part Number Sensors
72-5201RK: LEL & PPM HC/O2
72-5427RK: LEL & PPM HC/O2/CO/PH3
72-5528RK: LEL & PPM HC/O2/CO/PH3/NH3

Parker-TexLoc Precision Fluoropolymer Tubing is available extruded from TexFluor™ PTFE, FEP, PFA, and MFA . All of these tubing choices feature a low coefficient of friction and anti-stick properties which reduce the chance for contamination and increase productivity by decreasing cleaning down time. Each material has specific dominant characteristics (ie: long lengths, increased flexibility), but all are chemically inert, non-wetting and non-leaching. These characteristics are ideal for a wide range laboratory, pharmaceutical and biomedical applications.

Offered in sizes from 0.004" up to 4" I.D., and capable of operating at up to 500ºF, depending upon the material and configuration, TexLoc Precision Fluoropolymer Tubing can be supplied with compatible fittings or formed with flares, tips or chamfers. Providing unrestricted flow to increase efficiencies, tubing is available with a low refractive index for applications where operators must visually monitor materials passing through the tube.

TexLoc Precision Fluoropolymer Tubing is priced according to material, size, configuration and quantity. Samples, price quotations and literature are available upon request.

With annual sales exceeding $10 billion, Parker Hannifin is the world's leading diversified manufacturer of motion and control technologies and systems, providing precision-engineered solutions for a wide variety of commercial, mobile, industrial and aerospace markets. The company employs more than 57,000 people in 43 countries around the world. Parker has increased its annual dividends paid to shareholders for 51 consecutive years, among the top five longest-running dividend-increase records in the S&P 500 index. For more information, visit the company's web site at http://www.parker.com, or its investor information site at http://www.phstock.com.

For more information contact:

Parker / TexLoc
Parker Hannifin Corp., Parflex Division
Janine Kruit, Marketing
4700 Lone Star Blvd.
Ft. Worth, Texas 76106
(800) 423-6551 Fax (800) 438-9562
email: texloc@parker.com
www.texloc.com

Laboratory Test Sites

For nearly 70 years, Atlas has been the worldwide leader in real time and accelerated weathering testing.

Atlas indoor exposure laboratories offer artificial accelerated weathering tests and a variety of other environmental test programs, all designed to accurately simulate true end-use conditions. A fully equipped laboratory for optical property and physical evaluation using the leading measurement instrumentation technology available provides a complete testing program.

Strict quality control guidelines have enabled Atlas' accelerated laboratories to achieve industry accepted accreditations from world renowned standards organizations.

Atlas has four accelerated laboratories around the world. These locations include:

• Atlas South Florida Test Service, Miami, Florida
• AMTT Laboratories in Europe

Two Days of Information-Packed Sessions for Individuals Involved in Laboratory Planning
Before you start your next laboratory design project, learn the essentials on laboratory planning and execution from experts in the field.

AIA Accredited

AIA Accredited
The Practical Approach to Laboratory Design Seminar provides 12 AIA-accredited learning units that qualify as Health, Safety and Welfare units - an entire year's requirement in one seminar.

Overview

The focus for this year's seminar is exploring current design trends for interdisciplinary laboratories. In interactive sessions, topics of emphasis will include:

• Biocontainment
• Green Design
• Nanotechnology
• Forensic Science
• Vivariums

Laboratory Weathering Testing from Atlas

Atlas offers a wide range of instruments and systems that simulate the environmental parameters of sunlight, temperature and moisture in the form of rain, dew and humidity.

These parameters are controlled to replicate actual end use conditions. The chambers incorporate light sources ranging from carbon arc to xenon; metal halide to fluorescent lamps. Typical applications can be found in a variety of industries: textiles, automotive, paints and coatings, plastics and polymers, paper, chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

Xenon Arc Instruments - Xenon arc, when properly filtered, simulates UV and visible solar radiation more closely than any other artificial light source. It is the most widely preferred light source when the material to be tested will be exposed to natural sunlight.

Fluorescent Devices - Fluorescent UV lamps are incorporated into devices such as the UV2000, perfect for screening the effects of UV energy on your material easily and affordably.

Metal Halide Systems - Widely used throughout the automotive industry and their suppliers, these systems are gaining importance through two main applications: aging tests for components made from several materials and solar heat load tests used research and development of air conditioning systems.

Laboratory Test Services - Our network of laboratories provides a comprehensive array of Atlas accelerated laboratory weathering and evaluation equipment.

Contact Atlas at 773-327-4520 or visit our corporate website - www.atlas-mts.com

About Atlas:

For more than 90 years, Atlas has pioneered innovations in the way companies test the durability of their products. From our first instrument in 1915 - the Solar Determinator - which simulated the fading effect the sun has on fabric, to today's comprehensive network of weathering testing instruments and services, our focus has remained the same:

Providing our customers with sophisticated technology and advanced testing solutions to determine how long their products will last. As a result, they can reach their ultimate goals: a quality product, a competitive edge, a faster time to market.