Mecart, the Canadian cleanroom builder, has released a virtual reality (VR) tour of a 700 ft2 cleanroom it delivered for a pharmacy in Quebec. The client required a new facility to comply with the new USP General Chapter 800 (USP 800) regarding the safe handling of hazardous drugs (HD), which will come into effect in December 2019.
This pharmacy will be offering hazardous drug compounding services to its customers in a brand-new facility, which also include a compliant HD cleanroom. Mecart was contracted to deliver the entire compounding cleanroom.
The cleanroom is located in Quebec, Canada, and follows OPQ, NAPRA and USP-800 standards. However, the layout is somewhat different from the one requested by USP 800 in the US.
Patients sitting in the waiting area of the pharmacy can see inside the non-sterile HD cleanroom.
The cleanroom entry is accessible from the back of the office. It opens to the non-sterile, non-HD compounding space. The HVAC mechanical room is accessible from the back of the non-sterile non-HD space for easy maintenance. Workers can then enter the Support Zone.
From there, the first door leads to the HD Anteroom, followed by the Sterile HD cleanroom (buffer zone) where the NuAire Biological Safety Cabinet (BSC) Class II type B2 is located.
The second door leads to the Non-Sterile HD cleanroom with two C-PEC hoods (Class I containment ventilated enclosures).
This layout is specific to the pharmacy’s needs. A typical layout varies a little. For instance, the cleanroom entry door is usually in the Support Zone. Many layouts are possible depending on the compounder’s needs—as long as they follow the USP-797 and 800 guidelines (and USP-795, if applicable).
The VR tour of the cleanroom facility is available.
