As we draw closer to the containment of the coronavirus, we should all remain humbled by the fact that the spread of a microorganism shut down much of our technology-driven world for beyond a year with its rippling effects still being felt today.
As a manufacturer of superior cleanroom apparel, Lakeland Industries has always treated the particle filtration efficiency of our CleanMax cleanroom garments as a critical measure of performance. Every person who has worn a mask in response to the coronavirus has had a basic lesson in filtration efficiency over the past year. Medical masks versus N95 masks, one mask or two, true PPE or general face coverings?
Why Does Filtration Efficiency Matter?
Even with the most thorough risk assessment, the true cost of an unimaginable risk is impossible to determine yet, as last year proved, those risks exist. However, the risk of contamination to your cleanroom employees, processes, products, and profits can be lessened by choosing the best cleanroom apparel on the market today. CleanMax offers 99.999% bacterial filtration and 99.999% particle filtration efficiency when tested in accordance with ASTM 2101. Our competitors’ garments offer anywhere from 96% to 98.4% Bacterial Filtration Efficiency. Does 1.5% to 4% additional filtration performance mean a lot? In the microscopic world of viable organisms in aseptic cleanroom applications, it carries a lot of weight and added risks.
Reusable cleanroom garments pose an even greater risk of contamination as they deteriorate through multiple launderings and irradiation sequences while aging out of an unknown lifecycle. While laundries can generalize performance of a reusable cleanroom garment, they cannot account for the cumulative variables and challenges that each individual application and wear places on the individual garment. Multiply the risk by the number of employees gowning and the number of times that garment is worn and then subsequently processed. With each cycle the garment becomes less of a barrier to contaminants offering less and less protection. What is the cost of the risk associated with each time an aging reusable garment is donned by a cleanroom employee?
Lakeland CleanMax Cleanroom Apparel
Mitigate the risk of both viable and nonviable contaminants impacting your critical environments and employees by choosing Lakeland CleanMax.
CleanMax is only manufactured in Lakeland ISO 9001:2015** certified manufacturing facilities. Our manufacturing teams follow a consistent set of specifications, environmental controls, process controls, and proper cleanroom protocol. Our single-use clean-manufactured cleanroom garments meet IEST Category 1 Cleanliness in accordance with IEST-RP-CC003.4 without any post-manufacturing processes to remove particulate or compromise the garment integrity. Lakeland offers traceability down to the label in each individual sterile garment. CleanMax is packaged not only to enhance the donning process, but to reduce waste and increase traceability.
References:
*ASTM F2101-07 Standard Test Method for Evaluating the Bacterial Filtration Efficiency (BFE) of Medical Face Mask Material, Using Biological Aerosol of Staphylococcus Aureus” (Modified to employ a more severe challenge than would be experienced in normal use.)
**ISO 9001:2005 Standards International Organization of Standardization “Quality management Systems – Requirement”
*** IEST-RP-CC003 Garment System Considerations for Cleanrooms and Other Controlled Environments.
