The most important question is why you wouldn’t have your cabinet certified. Certification is both a safety and quality assurance function. Reestablishing the proper cabinet settings gives you the peace of mind that the cabinet will provide its specified personnel, product and environmental protections.
Recommendations and requirements to certify biosafety cabinets come from a variety of sources. All manufacturers and NSF International recommend field certification of biosafety cabinets at installation and at least annually thereafter. In addition, whenever HEPA/ULPA filters are changed, maintenance repairs are made to internal parts, or a cabinet is relocated. JCAHO has now required proper maintenance (certification) of BSCs. CDC and NIH state that it is “imperative” that Class I and II biosafety cabinets be tested and certified (BMBL, 5th edition) and NIH funded research grants require cabinet certification. Individual state boards of pharmacy require certification of biosafety cabinets used in pharmacies in accordance to USP 797. Finally, proper maintenance, including certification, of biosafety cabinets falls under the OSHA General Duty clause.