EVALUATING THE EFFECTS OF A CLEANROOM AIR SHOWER ON PARTICLE DISPERSION

Although air showers are a common feature in industrial cleanroom facilities, their contribution to a successful particle control program has been questioned. In the study reported here, tests were carried out to determine the effectiveness of an air shower within a cleanroom suite. The particle dispersal rates from volunteers who had passed through or walked around outside of an air shower were measured in a test chamber, and it was found that the use of the air shower had no significant effect. Further tests showed that airborne particle counts in the cleanroom were not significantly affected by employees' use of the air shower. Thus it was concluded that air showers have little value in reducing particle dispersion from cleanroom personnel.