Steam Sterilizer for Given Building Animal Facility

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This project seeks to add a second larger steam sterilizer to the Given research animal facility at the University of Vermont (UVM). The University has a well-funded biomedical research program with focus areas in immunology, lung pathology, cardiology, oncology and endocrinology, among others. Since the commissioning of a barrier mouse facility in the Health Sciences Research Facility (HSRF) in 2003, the use of transgenic and immunocompromised mouse models has increased dramatically, and the HSRF now houses UVM's Transgenic Mouse Core facility. The research animal census at UVM has nearly doubled in the past six years, the increase consisting entirely of rodents. The HSRF facility is adjacent to the Given facility and the two together constitute the Central Research Animal Facility on the campus. While the HSRF facility contains a single 24" x 36" x 60" steam sterilizer, this machine currently is in use approximately 60 hours/week. A second sterilizer, located adjacent to the central cage washing area in the Given facility, would allow significant improvements in labor efficiency and provide important redundancy in autoclave capacity. The space identified for the new 36" x 48" x 72" sterilizer is an underutilized area, now occupied by a decommissioned crematorium. Because of environmental concerns surrounding the operation of this crematorium, the University has elected to contract with a disposal service for removal of animal carcasses and biohazards. Hence, removal of the crematorium and replacement with a modern steam sterilizer will allow improved utilization of the limited space within the animal facilities.