HSE EH76 – Control of Laboratory Animal Allergy

Preventing Exposure to Laboratory Animal Allergens

LEVCentral Expert Commentary

Laboratory animal allergy is a significant occupational health risk for people working with research animals or within animal facilities. Exposure to animal proteins found in urine, saliva, skin scales, fur, serum and bedding dust can cause sensitisation, rhinitis, conjunctivitis, skin reactions and occupational asthma.

HSE guidance note EH76 – Control of Laboratory Animal Allergy explains the health risks associated with laboratory animal allergens and sets out practical measures for preventing or adequately controlling exposure. The guidance is aimed at employers, managers and others responsible for animal facilities, and reflects the duties placed on employers under COSHH to prevent or control exposure to substances hazardous to health. HSE also refers to EH76 from its current laboratory animal worker asthma guidance.

For LEV professionals, the document is particularly valuable because laboratory animal allergy is often controlled through a combination of enclosure, containment, Local Exhaust Ventilation, individually ventilated cage systems, safe working practices, cleaning regimes and health surveillance. HSE specifically notes that good design of animal laboratory ventilation and extraction can provide effective control of aeroallergens, and that systems require regular maintenance and testing.

This makes EH76 a useful reminder that LEV in animal facilities is not simply about air movement. It is about controlling allergen release at source, preventing spread through the workplace and ensuring that exposure is reduced as far as reasonably practicable.

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View Original HSE Guidance

Key Learning Points

The guidance explains:

What laboratory animal allergy is.
How laboratory animal allergens can cause occupational asthma and other allergic disease.
Why exposure may occur during animal handling, cage cleaning, bedding changes and husbandry tasks.
The importance of preventing or reducing exposure at source.
The role of good facility design and ventilation.
Use of individually ventilated cage systems where appropriate.
The need for effective local extraction and containment during higher-exposure tasks.
The importance of safe working methods and staff training.
Why Type H vacuum cleaners with HEPA filtration should be used for cleaning.
Why dry sweeping should be avoided.
The need for regular maintenance and testing of ventilation and extraction systems.
The role of health surveillance in identifying early signs of allergy or asthma.

Source Document Information

Organisation: Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

Document: EH76 – Control of Laboratory Animal Allergy

Document Type: HSE Guidance Note

Primary Topics: Laboratory Animal Allergy, Occupational Asthma, Animal Allergens, LEV, Containment, COSHH, Health Surveillance

Audience: Laboratory Animal Facility Managers, Employers, Biological Safety Officers, LEV Designers, Occupational Hygienists, Health & Safety Professionals, Researchers, Technicians and Duty Holders.

LEVCentral Perspective

EH76 is an important resource because it addresses an exposure risk that is often underestimated outside specialist research environments.

Laboratory animal allergens can become airborne during routine work such as handling animals, changing cages, emptying bedding, cleaning rooms and maintaining animal units. Once airborne, fine allergen-containing particles may spread beyond the immediate task area unless properly controlled.

For LEV professionals, the guidance demonstrates the importance of combining several layers of control. Effective management may include individually ventilated cages, ventilated changing stations, local extraction, enclosure, good room ventilation, carefully designed cleaning methods and robust maintenance arrangements.

The guidance also reinforces a wider LEV principle: the success of exposure control depends on how the system is used as well as how it is designed. Even well-designed ventilation systems can be undermined by poor working practices, dry sweeping, inadequate cleaning, poor maintenance or failure to recognise early symptoms among exposed workers.

Further Resources

Recommended Learning

Thought Leadership

Laboratory animal allergy illustrates why LEV should be considered within a wider occupational hygiene framework rather than as an isolated engineering system. The hazard is biological in origin, the route of exposure is airborne, and the consequences may include life-changing occupational asthma.

In this environment, effective control depends upon preventing allergen release, capturing airborne contaminants close to source, maintaining appropriate ventilation patterns and ensuring that cleaning and working practices do not reintroduce allergen into the air.

For Duty Holders, EH76 is a valuable reminder that assurance depends not only on the presence of ventilation systems, but on the continued effectiveness of the complete control strategy.

Design, use, maintenance, testing, cleaning, training and health surveillance all contribute to protecting workers from laboratory animal allergy.