Affected area was contained within working embryo room so that repairs could be performed.

A major leak from an upstairs office that was under construction affected the embryo room of an in-vitro fertilization clinic, threatening the successful fertilization of dozens of hopeful couples, not to mention the livelihood of an entire medical office. Clark Seif Clark, Inc. (CSC) was dispatched to respond immediately. CSC was charged with helping the client and his contractor contain the damage and returning conditions to normal, all the while keeping operations going.

CSC approached this project as follows:

• Visual inspection and moisture survey.
• Removal and replacement of the affected porous building materials under containment, all the while adjusting the air pressurization of the embryo room and the work area so as to minimize contamination. Worker decontamination procedures were also implemented to help minimize impact of the embryo room and its operations.
• Culturable air and surface sampling in key areas for both fungi and bacteria, with samples incubated at the same temperature as the embryos to mimic the medical offices procedures. Samples were collected both before and after remediation work was completed. Results were compared with guidelines for biomedical cleanrooms.
• After work was completed, air samples were collected for particle counts and for organic compound scan to verify that the conditions within the embryo room were within acceptable paramenters.

Result: All affected materials were removed from the office, while keeping operations going. All conditions and operations were returned to normal, leaving no possibility of future questions about the impact that poor environmental conditions might pose on the success of fertilization.