Watching “The Hot Zone” and the portrayal of the extreme measures required to get into a BSL-4 environment (where extremely hazardous bio-agents like Ebola are kept) led me to wonder, “who the hell cleans up these places?”. What about routine maintenance (changing light bulbs or fixing a leaky faucet) and re-supply? Mopping the floor or changing a light bulb while wearing a biohazard suit can’t be easy.
In: Biology
I don’t know exactly for that level of safety, but there are numerous ways to destroy bacteria/viruses that would make the room safe.
First off, the suits are to prevent humans from being infected. Most bacteria can’t live for very long without a host or energy source (food) so if they make it to a countertop they won’t be alive for long.
If someone needed to access a room like that for maintenance they could use several methods to kill bacteria. They could use UV light, spray it down with chemicals, or fill the room with ethylene oxide gas to sterilize the room. Its unlikely that you can use heat and steam to sterilize in a whole room.
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