An assessment of environmental contamination arising from the use of some automated equipment in microbiology.

The generation of aerosols and the contamination of surfaces arising from some equipment used to automate tasks in the microbiology laboratory have been assessed using a microbiological test method. When used for the designed purposes none of the equipment is likely to present any significant aerosol hazard. Some of the equipment gave rise to surface contamination, and it is recommended that decontamination of work surfaces should be carried out at frequent intervals.