A short Biological Safety Cabinet (BSC) is ideal for USP-800 sterile hazardous drug compounding applications. This biosafety cabinet can be installed on taller stands that enable the pharmacists to work in a standing position while providing superior comfort and safety. Standing up while compounding drugs is preferred by many pharmacists as it improves mobility. It also prevents their arms from resting on the work surface which can potentially bring outside contaminants to the sterile compounding work area.
Typical BSCs in the market are around 62" tall and require an exhaust collar for ducting that adds 6" more height. When those cabinets are placed on stands set to a standing height of 35", the overall height becomes 103". Meanwhile, per USP-800, the BSC must be placed inside an ISO Class 7 or cleaner clean room, which typically has short 8 ft (96") ceiling. This prevents the pharmacist from working while standing.
To overcome this height challenge, Esco designed the Airstream® AC2 Series, the only NSF-listed BSC model in North America that is only 55" tall. Combining that with a 6" exhaust collar and 35" stand, the total height is precisely 96", which is just perfect for standard clean rooms.
