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Ventilation Design Handbook on Animal Research Facilities Using Static Microisolators 
• Leakage between the lower and upper cage moldings; and 
• Room width. 
The 100 different room configurations were then ranked according to various parameters, 
namely: 
• Room Temperature; 
• Cage Temperature; 
• Room Relative Humidity; 
• Cage Relative Humidity; 
• Room C02; 
• Cage C02; 
• Room NH3; 
• Cage NH3. 
It is therefore possible for the designer, in using this document, to select the most appropriate 
design configuration based on their particular requirements. 
Room pressurization, change station design, and room width were found to have little effect on 
ventilation performance. However, all the other factors were found to affect either or both of the 
macro- or microenvironments to a greater or lesser extent. 
The key conclusions of this research are: 
• Ammonia production rates depended on the relative humidity in the cages and the number of 
days that had elapsed since the bedding was changed. Figure 0.1 shows the data points 
measured and the best fit lines (“Poly.”) for the data. Five days after the last change of 
bedding ammonia was produced in a high humidity environment at approximately three 
times the rate as in a low humidity environment. This research showed that the rate of 
ammonia generation was not directly dependent on temperature, although temperature has a 
direct effect on the relative humidity of the air. 
