Toxicology is the study of the effects of chemicals and physical agents on living organisms. Toxicology is used in crime labs to find and analyze substances—drugs and alcohol—which impair a person’s ability to reason or function. This article will provide design guidelines for toxicology laboratories that provide you with ideas on how you might better renovate your existing toxicology spaces or plan for these labs in a new space. The guidelines are based on what Crime Lab Design generally has seen and recommends in toxicology labs.

One of the first steps in designing and planning laboratories for toxicology is to separate the various processes to be preformed in the spaces and determine what each process requires in the way of infrastructure and support. By the nature of these requirements, some processes need to occur in their own rooms or spaces, while others can occur in shared areas. The majority of activities will occur in the main tox lab. This laboratory provides each analyst with a workstation for examination. Adjacent or near to the main lab are supporting spaces, for example an instrument room. Office space is also needed, separate from the laboratories. Office space can be private, shared, open, hoteling (for shift work), or community (bullpen for groups) depending on your institution’s preferences and available space and funding.

After the various toxicology processes have been sorted into spaces, the following guidelines can help determine what spaces need to be directly adjacent to one another, what will likely be in each space, and these ideas can begin the process of determining how large each space needs to be.

Toxicology Laboratory Design Guidelines

• Bio Vestibule
  o Entry into the lab should be through a bio vestibule. The vestibule helps control air flow, preventing lab air from passing out into the corridor, and acts as an overall barrier against cross contamination
  o The vestibule should be equipped with a hand wash sink

• Main Toxicology Laboratory Space
  o Each analyst should have his or her own workstation, with ideally 15 linear feet of bench space per analyst
  o Individual in-process secure evidence storage
  o Individual spot ventilation, fume hood, or biological safety cabinet
  o Sink (may be shared between two analysts)
  oMiscellaneous bench space with hood(s) and sink(s) as required for specific equipment and procedures
  o Stand-alone specimen processing room may be required in addition to analyst workstations, depending on operation and accreditation requirements
  o Special processing of waste may be required