So what does happen if the power goes out and the back-up power goes out at the CDC? I can’t imagine that it’s as the show Walking Dead portrays it but what happens? Can anyone just waltz in and remove samples or is there a back to the back up?
That’s scary! I am not sure what I expected but cabinets and rooms acting as “physical barriers” is a bit lower tech than what I hoped for.
This is the type of cabinet he meant. Not the first pic, but down in the Class III section (although the CDC actually has Level 4 facilities).
Labs are also kept at lower pressure than outside, so air is always being forced into the lab and never out. It would take some amount of time for air leaks to equalize pressure before any air seeped out. And then, there are enough sealed doors between the lab and outside, I don’t see that much of it would circulate around the building enough to get outside, assuming people close the doors and walk away.
Of course, the lab is without power for a couple of months in Walking Dead, so who knows what could happen.