The Standard Group Safety Mist Shower is a self-contained modular chamber with stainless steel doors and a toughened glass window which is designed to deliver mist to facilitate operative decontamination.
The answer is YES..... the questions and answers below may help to illustrate this.
Why are Safety Mist Showers needed?
It is widely understood that the greatest source of particulate contamination in a cleanroom is from the operator. Standard Group's Safety Mist Showers are typically installed as a physical barrier between operator change areas (grey areas) and the cleanroom (clean area) to help eliminate this primary contamination source.
In addition to its operation, the Safety Mist Shower also enhances cleanroom operating protocol by serving as a reminder to all operators that they are entering a controlled environment. Operatives naturally develop the habit of correctly gowning up before entering the mist shower.
How do Safety Mist Showers Work?
Safety Mist Showers deliver a fine atomised fog to temporarily bind any loose powders to the user’s garment and prevent them from becoming airborne or migrating outside the containment area during de-gowning.
This also provides essential protection to the operator’s respiratory system, protecting the operator from inhalation hazards during de-gowning.
Mist showers therefore reduce possible re-suspension of hazardous particulates in the operator’s breathing zone and contamination into the de-gowning area.
The mist shower works by gently wetting the surface of the operator’s protective gown with a fine water mist causing the powder to stick to the surface instead of becoming airborne.
Some water droplets then run to the floor grate to the drain and to the effluent treatment plant or in case of potent materials post-neutralisation. Other water droplets remain on the operative protective clothes which are disposed in accordance with plant protocol Standard Operating Procedures (SOP's).
Contaminated air from inside the Safety Mist Shower is then drawn through the base within the unit, filtered and recirculated.
Where can Safety Mist Showers be applied?
In addition to cleanrooms, the Standard Safety Mist Shower systems can be integrated with exit airlock systems or emergency exit in any processing facility where highly potent molecules are manufactured or used as raw materials.
Other applications include Research Laboratories and Animal breeding units.
Typical industry sectors supplied with Safety Mist Showers include;
How Effective are Safety Mist Showers?
Our Standard Group Safety Mist Showers are supplied with a double walled stainless steel construction with airtight single or multi doors entry/exits. Doors are available in stainless steel double wall design with tempered glass windows, or full tempered glass construction.
The effectiveness of the system is primarily dependent on
All these factors should be taken into consideration when evaluating effectiveness if the system. For the equipment to be effective the operator must follow correct misting procedures and the facility’s de-gowning procedure.
The location of misting nozzles, type and cycle time are all carefully optimised to ensure uniform mist coverage and that no region is under or over-saturated with water.
If designed correctly, Safety Mist Showers are an effective method of controlling contaminates.
Factors to help ensure Safety Mist Shower Performance
All mist showers manufactured by the Standard Group of Companies are subjected to;
1. Dye tests. During Factory Acceptance Trials (FAT) we us a dedicated system to ensure uniform misting of person, protective equipment and absence of dead zone to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Safety Mist Shower system
2. Surrogate material studies during Site Acceptance Trials (SAT) protocol execution. The use of mist showers reduces airborne concentration by around 170 times, comparatively.
If you have a requirement or application for a Standard Safety Mist Shower or if you would like further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.
