Waste materials need to be segregated in categories like chemical, radioactive, bio-hazardous, and general waste streams. Infectious waste should be decontaminated by treating them with chemical disinfectants.

In any situation, lab technicians are advised not to break or bend needles. Needles and syringes, butterfly needles and associated tubing, and similar devices should be discarded intact into a puncture- and leak-proof container.

According to Indian health ministry, setting up a lab of such standard needs at least Rs.40 million and the maintenance cost of such centres is approximately Rs.100,000 per day. Couple of days back, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said that one positive swine flu test costs government at least Rs.10,000 and a negative test costs Rs.5,000-6,000.

The door of the labs is kept closed to minimize unnecessary access by casual visitors or persons not needing to be in the laboratory. It is prudent to schedule entry by non-laboratorians to times when there is no test is going on.

A leak proof box, preferably equipped with a gasket seal lid, should be used for transport of infectious materials from one location to another. This is particularly important when carrying samples from patient care areas to labs.

Other special practices include decontaminating work surfaces after completing the work with the infectious materials, keeping non-research animals out of the laboratory. The air inside the lab is filtered to make them sterile.