Ammonia in Animal Room
You requested information on different Ammonia Monitors but did not specify the nature of your concerns. I suspect that the issue of an Ammonia Monitor is just the tip of the ice berg. The issue of Ammonia in animal cages and animal rooms has been a long standing concern of individuals managing laboratory animal facilities. One concern may relate to personnel working in the animal room. A second concern may relate to the effects of Ammonia on the laboratory animals housed in the room. There are well documented effects of high
levels of Ammonia in cages on the olfactory tissues of laboratory animals. Related to this a number of studies have been conducted to evaluate the multiple factors ( bedding type, diet, cage type use of bacteriostatic materials, etc.) that influence generation of Ammonia by microbial activity in the animal cage or "catch pans" beneath animal cages as well as the ventilation system for the room. Ventilation may be a special problem if the room, and associated ventilation system, were not designed for housing laboratory animals.
I suggest you consult with a Diplomate of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine who will be familiar with these issues. Diplomates of the ACLAM are
Doctors of Veterinary Medicine with special traing in laboratory animal medicine and passed the rigorous exam of the ACLAM. It will also be appropriate to consult with a Ventilation Engineer who has had experience with laboratory animal facilities.
Good luck resolving your Ammonia issues.
Roger O. McClellan, DVM, MMS, DSc(Honorary)
Diplomate - ABVT and ABT; Fellow- ATS, AAAR, SRA, HPS, and AAAS: Member -Institute of Medicine.
On Wednesday, November 5, 2014 1:18 PM, "Demer, Frank R - (demer)" <demer**At_Symbol_Here**EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU> wrote:
AirAware=E2=84=A2
From: DCHAS-L Discussion List [mailto:dchas-l**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU] On Behalf Of Bradley, Shelly
Sent: Wednesday, November 05, 2014 1:01 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Ammonia detector
I've had a request for an ammonia detector for the animal room in Biology. Does anyone have any recommendations? I keep finding personal units or ones for large industrial facilities. The room is maybe 15x15.
Thanks,
Shelly
Shelly Bradley
NRCC-CHO
Authorized OSHA Trainer
Instrumentation Specialist
Laboratory Development Assistant
Campus Chemical Compliance Director
Department of Chemistry
Hendrix College
Conway, AR 72032
Ph: (501) 450-3812
