Modern Cleanroom Clothing Systems: People as a Contamination Source

Abstract

Today, clothing and clothing systems for cleanrooms are mainly tested with regard to material properties such as particle generation, particle fi ltration, and resistance to wear. The dispersal chamber or “body-box” has been used for studying the protective effi cacy of clothing systems in use, for example by Hoborn in 1981 (1) and Whyte and Bailey in 1985 (2).

A modifi ed dispersal chamber has recently been installed at KTH. Tests and comparative studies have been performed in the dispersal chamber on selected clothing systems. The latest tests have been performed in two parts. In Part 1, each person performed 12 sequences dressed in new, modern cleanroom clothing systems with small variations, such as with and without goggles, different face masks, and different sizes of hoods. In Part 2, each person performed six test sequences with new, modern cleanroom clothing systems with variations in fabrics, and as a comparison, two sequences with pharmaceutical clothing system and surgical clothing system, respectively.

The results are given in total number of airborne particles (≥ 0.5 μm per cubic meter) and airborne aerobic CFU per cubic meter. Statistical evaluations of the results have been performed. The source strengths of the contamination source people wearing modern cleanroom clothing systems have been estimated.