Construction of a public health laboratory of Biosafety Level 3

As the project’s general contractor, FIMA was responsible for all construction and installation work in the Bio-safety Level Three laboratory. The work was carried out according to a design developed in line with recommendations by the Robert Koch Institute which oversees thesetting up, construction and maintenance of Bio-safety Level Three and Four laboratories. The Vilnius laboratory is designed to ensure the safety of people working in it and to stop the escape of biological agents.

FIMA installed an integrated security and access control system, fire alarm and video surveillance systems, Category Six telecommunication networks, lighting and power supply networks as well as heating, ventilation and air conditioning system(HVAC) and automation systems.

In addition to implementing a shared HVAC system, FIMA designed and installed specialised HVAC systems for the two laboratories, a negative pressure cascade with flood gates and airtight doors and windows. The air in the laboratory is cleaned by special HEPA filters ensuring that it is changed 12 times an hour. All the ventilation systems are fully automatic.

A computer interface and control panels were installed to monitor the operation of all the systems and maintain an archive of events and data.

Project uniqueness

This is the first laboratory in the Lithuanian health security system that can be used to safely examine rare Bio-safety Level Three infectious organisms causing human diseases.