Published in La gazette du laboratoire
After a first report in January dedicated to Oxy’Pharm, and its 18 years of experience and its 100% French, 100% biodegradable devices, dedicated to the fight against infections and contaminations, we wanted to find out more about the use of its new disinfection solutions in laboratories.
Here is an interview with a well-informed user, Mr. Dominique Bouilly – Founder and Managing Director of CETEP, a company specialising in the inspection and qualification of clean rooms, microbiological safety laboratories and collective protective equipment – that we have to share with you today..
La Gazette du Laboratoire (LGdL): “Hello Mr. Bouilly. CETEP, which you have been managing for almost twenty years, is a key partner of many laboratories for preventing and controlling biological, chemical and particulate risks. Can you tell us more about the company’s vocation and tell us a little about your own journey? “
Dominique Bouilly (D. B.) : “CETEP [Cabinet d’Etudes Techniques des Environnements Propres] was created in 1998 with the primary aim of controlling environments and in particular biological, chemical and particulate risks. The core of the business focuses on the inspection of cleanrooms and collective protective equipment. I have nearly thirty years of experience in the field of health, safety and environment (HSE), and in particular in aerosol physics; I worked for the L’Oréal group and the Institut Pasteur – first as a HSE engineer, then in the Development Department – before acquiring the company CETEP in 2002.”
LGdL: “Where is the Company based today? How many people work for it? “
D. B. : “CETEP is now run by a team of seven people, including five technicians and a technical director. We have two offices, one in Chartres and the other in Orsay. There is also a branch in Montreal.”
LGdL: “What are the main areas of activity and services offered by CETEP? “
D. B. : “Nowadays, our team is still specialised in the incoming qualification (IQ/OQ) and periodic inspection of cleanrooms, microbiological safety laboratories and collective protective equipment such as MSCs, laboratory fume hoods, chemical hoods and isolators.
We also carry out air transfers using tracer gases. These gases are particularly interesting for checking the homogeneity of ventilation in a clean room or a laboratory, for determining and understanding the aeraulic flows in a building in order to solve, for example, problems with odours or discomfort felt by the staff members, or for evaluating the efficiency of air extractors at the workstation, for searching for leaks and quantifying their flow rates, for calculating the rate of renewal in the premises, in the underfloor spaces, etc. Our team also has considerable experience in airborne surface disinfection (ASD) of sensitive premises and laboratories, including microbiological safety laboratories. Every year in France we carry out more than 500 airborne disinfections of premises, and our clients include some of the largest French research institutes.
Finally, we are developing a verification service (audit and control) for air conditioning installations as well as consulting and training to assist our clients in the control of chemical, microbiological and particulate contamination.“
LGdL: “Who are CETEP’s services intended for? In which geographical areas? “
D. B. : “Our services are intended for all types of industries, public and private research centres, as well as health establishments, whatever their size and wherever they are located in France, as well as in Montreal, where we have a branch. “
D. B. : “CETEP has obtained COFRAC accreditation for the qualification of clean rooms and MSCs, as well as the MASE certificate (Manuel d’Amélioration Sécurité des Entreprises) validating our approach to continuous improvement of Health and Safety and Environmental performance. The company is also ISO 9001 certified and has a type B ministerial approval to carry out the control of ventilation and sanitation of workplaces. “
LGdL: “We would like to know more about the OXY’PHARM solutions you use for airborne surface bio-disinfection. How long have you been integrating these new generation products into your processes? How did you come into contact with OXY’PHARM? “
D. B. : “We contacted and started working with OXY’PHARM in June 2020. Before that point, we used to use formaldehyde for the DSVA of level 3 microbiological safety laboratories. We were probably the last company in France to use this biocide. However, due to its toxicity, including carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic (CMR) effects, and regulatory restrictions on its use, we looked for an alternative biocide with the same spectrum of anti-microbial activity and the same effectiveness in reducing microbial loads. That’s how we reached out to OXY’PHARM. After numerous laboratory tests, in collaboration with one of the largest French research institutes, we were able to demonstrate the effectiveness of their biocide [NOCOLYSE+] on a wide range of micro-organisms, and opted for this solution! .”
Let’s recall that the range proposed by Oxy’Pharm for aerial surface bio-disinfection, called Nocotech, offers a 100% automated solution based on the dual action of a spray system and a disinfection product. Among the different models of machines available, the NOCOSPRAY and the NOCOMAX EASY – for larger volumes – allow the treatment of a room from 10 to 1000 m3, and from 500 to 20,000 m3 respectively. All machines work using the same principle, using a heated and ionising turbine to spray disinfectants in the form of a dry mist. The Nocotech range of bio-disinfection products is available as ready-to-use liquid products, including NOCOLYSE +, which contains 12% hydrogen peroxide and 17ppm silver, and NOCOLYSE FOOD, which contains 7.9% hydrogen peroxide, without silver.
LGdL: “What are the main advantages of using NOCOSPRAY and NOCOMAX in your daily ASD processes? “
D. B. : “The NOCOSPRAY system, as it is compact, has a big advantage in terms of transport. It can also be used to disinfect a wide range of volumes, from small rooms to large premises, with a fast diffusion time. Finally, we particularly like its spray nozzle function, which is very useful for disinfecting equipment such as Microbiological Safety Cabinets and ventilation ducts.
There are also many advantages of NOCOMAX, starting with the very large volume of the rooms – up to 20,000 m3 – that it can disinfect. The rapid diffusion of the biocide is also a strong point, as is the possibility of directing it in four directions independently.
Finally, the NOCOMAX device has two other important advantages for our business: its wheels make it easy to handle, and its stainless steel surface allows us to use it in controlled areas such as pet shops.”
LGdL: “Thank you Mr. Bouilly. To conclude, what are CETEP’s objectives today? Is there anything you would like to point out that we have not yet discussed? “
D. B. : “We want to retain the strengths that have made CETEP a success since its creation: a human-sized structure, qualified and experienced staff, trained and empowered, and calibrated equipment. Only one final recruitment is planned for this year, with a technical diploma in the fields of physics, chemistry or biology. We care about maintaining a trusting relationship with our customers, a high quality of service, in particular thanks to the availability and responsiveness of our team who benefit from this close relationship.”
We would like to conclude by pointing out that Mr Bouilly will be speaking on 18 March at the POLEPHARMA “Biotesting” workshop – for which OXY’PHARM is also a partner – on the subject of airborne surface disinfection (https://biotesting.polepharma.com).
Finally, another news item that we must highlight in the current health context: the creation and launch by the company HygiaConnect, of which Mr. Bouilly is also the founder and director, of the HYGIAbox, a connected, easy-to-use and easily readable box that measures the concentration of CO2 in a room and consequently controls the quality of ventilation in enclosed spaces. A particularly relevant innovation to limit the spread of Covid-19. We will be able to present HygiaConnect and its solutions in more detail in our next edition.