Bacillus subtilis var. niger spores were used to determine the exposure time for formaldehyde decontamination of biological safety cabinets. Formaldehyde contact times less than 3 hr were insufficient for sterilization. A contact time of 4 hr or more resulted in a reproducible killing of the spore strips placed inside the cabinets. At 6 hr sufficient formaldehyde had diffused through the high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter to sterilize the strips with lower spore counts. A minimum of 5 to 6 logs of killing were observed after 4 to 6 hr of treatment.
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