Ultralow Freezers Best Practices Guidelines September 2014 Debbie Shiozaki

Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 2 Freezer Administration ........................................................................................................................... 3 Maintenance of Freezers ....................................................................................................................... 4 Sample Management ............................................................................................................................. 5 Emergency Preparedness ..................................................................................................................... 6

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Introduction Freezers are critical to the Center’s research and space for freezers is limited. There are more than 800 freezers at the Center used to store research samples. The expense for supporting freezers, including the lab space occupied, the utility costs needed to operate the freezers and cool the space, as well as the Facilities Engineering manpower needed to oversee the power and alarm systems and provide quarterly preventive maintenance is significant. It is crucial to the Center and labs that freezers operate in an optimal manner and that freezer space utilization is maximized. This guide provides best practices on the use of ultra-low freezers that will result in improved performance and efficiencies. By following this guide, you will potentially be able to reduce operating costs, improve sample viability, reduce risk of sample loss, extend the operating life of freezers, reduce maintenance costs, and improve freezer capacity. Additional information on responsibilities of freezer owners versus services provided by Facilities Engineering (FE) can be found in the FE Freezer Service Level Agreement (SLA).

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Freezer Administration Identify a point of contact for your freezer(s)



Consolidate or share freezer space

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Do not leave empty freezers running



Do not store materials on top of freezers



Take steps to reduce freezer alarms

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Report when your freezer is operating differently



Inspect door seals and gaskets daily for leaks and ice buildup



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Assign responsibility to one point of contact with an operational understanding of freezer functions, controls, alarm modules, preventative maintenance needs, proper sample storage, freezer space management, laboratory storage needs, response to alarms and best practices. Consider consolidating partially filled boxes and/or sharing space with another lab Consider using racks specifically made for the freezer to allow containers/boxes to stack or fit close together Shutting off empty freezers will result in cost savings. Call Engineering to remove a freezer for defrost to prevent water damage. Dry the freezer out before storing and leave door slightly open when not in use Storing materials on top traps warm air near the freezer and can result in the compressor operating more frequently to maintain set temperature. Keep 4” of air circulation on all sides and back of freezers. Do not keep freezer door open for extended periods of time. This will activate the alarm as the freezer warms above set point. Limit quantities of room temperature material/samples to prevent overloading the freezer and warming above alarm set point temperature. Report changes in freezer operating characteristics to your designated lab freezer contact. 1. Compressor running continuously 2. Making more noise than usual 3. Flat line trace, conventional (non-Stirling) freezers only Gaskets in good condition seal the cold in. Gaskets in poor condition allow warm moist air to allow ice to build up. Ice buildup causes the compressor to run more often reducing the life of compressor. Contact Facilities Engineering to replace a poor door gasket. Check for ice buildup every time the door is opened. Check the door seal by placing a dollar bill in the door as you close it and see if it holds firmly in place.

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Maintenance of Freezers Space Planning



Review space needs for freezers annually to plan ahead. If additional freezers are needed, work with your PI and division administrator to determine where those freezers can be located within your division when possible. If necessary, complete an application to request space in the Fairview freezer facility prior to ordering a freezer.

Budget for future freezer replacement or rebuilds



Determine a cleaning and maintenance schedule for lab

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Maintenance provided by Facilities Engineering Perform Annual freezer cleanouts



Average life of a freezer set to -80 is 7-10 years. Operating at -70 can extend the lifetime. Rebuilding a compressor costs ~$6k and a new -80 Stirling freezer costs $13,500-15,000K. Timely rebuild/replacement can reduce maintenance costs. Freezers can be rebuilt once before replacement is necessary. A regular cleaning and maintenance schedule will help maintain freezer efficiency. Weekly ice cleaning and annual defrosts are recommended as the minimum maintenance. Complete a work order to request a loaner for defrosting freezers. Preventative maintenance, such as quarterly cleaning of freezer coils and testing the alarm system, is completed by Facilities Engineering to keep freezers in optimal operating conditions. Cleanouts keeps samples from getting lost by being better organized. Discard samples that are: 1. Unlabeled, contents unknown and no way to find out 2. Raw sample, analysis date unknown 3. Researcher gone, sample unknown 4. Analysis complete, results published, no further study likely 5. Researcher gone, more than 3 years old 6. Just-in-case samples, saved during a process as backup and not needed 7. Sample redundant If one or two freezers can be eliminated, this saves 9-23 kWh per day per freezer depending on model, saving up $550 per year plus additional HVAC savings. Identify freezer needs for new recruits while planning and work with planning for lab space and SRs if space is needed in freezer facility. Incorporate freezer space needs in lab design layout and ask about any increased needs in the next 5 years to allow for space planning. Before a researcher leaves, take time to review their projects to determine whether to keep or discard samples. Discuss with PI to determine if there is any value to keeping the research samples.

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 New Recruits



Discard unneeded samples when researchers leave



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Sample Management Clearly label and inventory samples stored in each freezer and review annually

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Determine anticipated storage time for samples



Store samples at the highest temperature needed for the sample type

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 Consider alternative storage methods such as room temperature Safely dispose of all samples

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All users should label sample and reagent boxes with sample description, their name, the PI’s name, and date. Only correctly labeled samples with clear ownership and purpose should be allowed back in the freezer. Maintain and date the inventory list. Be sure it is backed up or duplicated. Determine the research samples that are irreplaceable and determine the best means by which you can protect them. This could mean duplicating the sample and storing off-site. A User Seat for Freezer Pro can be purchased by the lab for $650 to record and maintain sample inventory for the PIs freezers. This web-based program can be utilized from offsite to review inventory as needed. Freezer Pro provides a record each time a sample is accessed. Samples may be divided into three categories: 1. active samples located in the lab, 2. archive which can be located in a Center operated Freezer Farm 3. disposable and should be marked with a disposal date. The most common temperature for storing materials in ultra-low freezers is -80°C. o o Increasing freezer temperatures from –80 C to –70 C will decrease the run time of the compressor and the frequency of the start/stop cycle and extend the life-span of the freezer. Almost 45% of labs have already increased the temperature of their ultralow freezers o o to -70 C. Some labs have gone as warm as -60 C. Switching to new room temperature sample storage methods (e.g., biomatrica.com). Some labs store DNA samples a room temperature with little processing. Need more information, see the shared resources website. All samples should be disposed of safely and in compliance with hazardous waste regulations. If unclearly labeled or unsure of hazard contact EH&S for assistance.

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Emergency Preparedness Keep the emergency contacts list accurate



  Write an emergency response plan to be prepared in case of freezer failure



Develop an emergency response plan for widespread utility failure or other disaster



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Engineering needs current contact information for lab personnel in case of an alarm or other issue with their freezer. During an alarm that requires sample transfer to a loaner freezer, lab personnel must assist with transfer the contents into a loaner. Any change in contact information must be noted immediately on the form and the date of change indicated. The contact information must be reviewed at least annually or upon staff changes and the date of review noted. Ensure that adequate backup, archival and monitoring strategies are in place to prevent the loss of research materials and subsequent delays in the completion of research. Ensure familiarity with backup freezers location and dry-ice storage locations if they are needed to save your samples. For widespread power failure such as a severe earthquake, the lab should have additional plans. Highly valuable and irreplaceable samples should be split with a portion stored off-site in a different geographical location. The Center will not be able to save samples in a widespread emergency and it is up to each lab to determine samples that should be split and stored off-site.

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