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Keeping your workers safe while working inside your clean room is a priority and one of the things that need to be factored in to the design and construction of your clean room.
While you cannot forecast all issues that may arise, there are some common issues that are important to think through and plan for.
Fire
Fire in a clean room can be a unique challenge since these rooms tend to have closed air circulation and air pressure differences from the surrounding spaces. This can make it harder to fight a fire. Having a good alarm system that is sensitive enough to detect a fire but not cause false alarms is a key to making sure you can keep your employees safe. Most OSHA requirements as well as other standards for Clean rooms do require some type of fire suppression system inside the room. Some may be water based and some may be based on other gases or chemicals to be used for fire suppression depending upon the types of chemicals and materials used in the room.
Some end users require to have and “Early Detection System” in place, to minimize the activation of a full suppression system.
Chemical Issues
Depending upon the purpose of the clean room you may run in to issues of improper storage or use of chemicals that can cause burns or noxious gases which can jeopardize the health of your employees.
These types of issues can be mitigated through proper training about the types of chemicals being used as well as how to handle and store the chemicals properly.
Contamination
If your employees experience a contamination event while working in the clean room can be a major challenge to overcome. Not using the proper protective equipment or having inadequate training can be one of many factors causing this issue.
Providing the proper PPE for your employees along with proper training can help them make sure they can prevent any contamination issues.
Proper airflow design mitigates the contamination issue along with proper airlocks and pressurization.
In High risk labs/cleanrooms, such as BSL, Proper SOP and Training are essential to the safety of the Lab operators and surrounding rooms.
In summary, it is very important to review your room design to think through possible problem scenarios and how they can be mitigated as well as prevented. It is also very important to make sure to plan your training to help your employees understand the risks of the chemicals and materials in the room, how to properly handle and manage these items as well as what to do in the event a problem does arise.