Cleanroom Classifications: 4 Facts About ISO Standards

Cleanrooms are engineered spaces with low contaminants that allow people to manufacture or monitor specific things. Many scientific and electronic industries often use cleanrooms for experimentation. However, all cleanrooms aren’t the same. Check out these cleanroom classifications and four facts about ISO standards. 

What Is a Clean Room?

A modular cleanroom is a space to isolate equipment or other items in a temperature-controlled room. They’re ideal for manufacturing or research purposes, as you can regulate the number of pollutants that get into the space. Industries like pharmaceuticals and biotechnology typically use cleanrooms for various products and experiments.

Clean Room Classification

The ISO classifies cleanrooms by the cleanliness level of the air inside the controlled environment. According to the quantity and size of particles per cubic meters of air, the ISO can place the cleanroom in a “class” such as ISO 1 and ISO 9, with ISO 1 being the “cleanest” and ISO 9 being the “dirtiest.” However, even ISO 9 rooms are cleaner than the average room. It’s important to note that the most common ISO cleanroom classes are ISO 7 and ISO 8.

Facts About ISO Standards

ISO maintains a series of standards for cleanrooms that outline the best practices and procedures to manage the risk of contamination. People need to understand ISO standards to get the most out of the cleanroom. Here are a few facts about ISO standards:

• Cleanrooms must maintain particulate-free airflow through HEPA or ULPA filters that direct unidirectional or downward airflow.
• A cleanroom must have less than 3,520 particles ( >0.5 microns per cubic meter) and 250-300 HEPA or ULPA filtered air changes per hour.
• Workers cannot contaminate the cleanroom with outside clothing. They must wear cleanroom suits that include a garment, bouffant hat, shoe covers, goggles, and face masks.
• Cleanrooms are ideal for medical device manufacturing, pharmaceutical compounding, and semiconductor or electronic manufacturing.

Cleanrooms are useful in several industries, as they isolate equipment and products from contaminants. Depending on the use of the space, the ISO will assign the room a certain cleanroom classification. We hope this guide and four facts about ISO standards were helpful to you. If you’re interested in a prefab cleanroom, you should contact National Partitions. We create high-quality and customizable cleanrooms that will fit your company’s needs. If you have any questions, call us today.