Facility Design Considerations for High Solvent Use Processes: An Architect’s Perspective
By Brian Szakacs, AIA, NCARB, Process Architect, Arcadis
There is a growing trend in the life sciences industry of companies looking to manufacture oligonucleotides or other products that involve large quantities of solvents and other hazardous materials. Such processes typically exceed the code of allowable limits for standard facility design and construction. (This type of facility is often classified as “high hazard group H” per the International Building Code.) Consequently, knowing how to create a code-compliant, high-hazard facility is becoming a more common design issue.
Facilities classified as “high hazard” have a much stricter set of code guidelines than others. These code guidelines can significantly affect a facility's design (from an architectural layout standpoint). What’s more, if hazardous material volumes exceed code allowable limits, the project's design and construction cost can greatly increase.
If your organization is contemplating building a facility to manufacture a product with a high solvent quantity, there are some basic considerations to keep in mind to control costs and ensure safety.
Understanding solvents and building requirements
When designing a building in the United States, the International Building Code dictates allowable limits of physically hazardous materials that can be stored in the facility. It is essential to minimize and cluster such spaces into specific areas within the building, and to minimize the square footage as much as possible. This will require extensive upfront coordination with the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing team, and the structural team.
The manufacturing process for some products may require a quantity of hazardous materials (such as solvents) that exceeds the code allowable limits – in this case, additional design considerations must be met. For example, the code does allow the storage of volumes over the allowable limits. The area where the materials are stored, however, is required to be in an independent structure and enclosure consisting of rated construction as well as other engineering controls that are stipulated by the code.
Let’s break down the nuances among different types of occupancy considerations.
Many GMP manufacturing facilities are considered an “F-occupancy” classification (factory low-hazard or factory moderate-hazard). Once the allowable limits of hazardous materials are exceeded, however, the building or a specific portion of the building must be considered H-occupancy or “high hazard.”
Such so-called “high hazard” buildings need to take careful design considerations of design elements such as:
Egress travel distances
Percentage of exterior wall exposure
Fire-rating of the building’s structural members
Fire-rated partitions
Construction type
Assembly penetrations
Structural risk category
Fire suppression methods
Rated space where the materials are stored
Mechanical exhausting methods
Tips for getting started
How do you create a code-compliant high-hazard use-group facility? If your organization is embarking on a project such as this, there are several primary considerations to keep in mind to ensure success.
Nail down the scale. Before anything else happens, you’ll need to bring the designers and all other stakeholders together to commit to the anticipated process scale and hazardous material list (with projected volumes). Having this information fully developed at the project's onset will help drive building code analysis.
Growing pains? Ensure designers and other relevant parties are informed as to whether future facility expansion or manufacturing-scale increases are likely. Knowing that information upfront will help “future-proof” the design.
Exhaust possibilities. There are many possible ways to properly exhaust the spaces that meet both code requirements while staying within your budget. As early as possible, you’ll need to address these alternatives with your architect and mechanical engineer.
Location, location, location. Rooms that may be considered H-occupancy should ideally be located along exterior walls.
This advice is just the tip of the iceberg when planning and designing facilities that involve high solvent-use processes. By starting with these basics, you can be confident that you’ve laid the groundwork for a facility that not only meets building code guidelines but does so budget-consciously.
