[labnetwork] Question about cleanroom mask policies

[Tony L Olsen]

Robert

Early this summer, when the university began allowing folks back on campus, face masks were required.  In fact, the university even provided a multi-layer cloth mask to ALL students, faculty, and staff.  Most people use that mask, while some have found other styles.  I did not want anyone removing or replacing that mask to enter the cleanroom, so they continue to wear their own mask for the cleanroom.  Frankly, I recognized that any user-provided mask (cloth or paper) may not be very effective at particle filtering, but there are worse regular practices that compromise the cleanroom.  We only double-mask (add a standard cleanroom snood) when the user's mask does not cover all facial hair.  I have no data to support our approach, but it seemed to be a reasonable compromise to the current situation.  The biggest problem has been the increased fogging of safety glasses.  Social/physical distancing is still promoted, but poorly practiced.

I may be naïve, but I believe standard cleanroom protocols, frequent wipe downs of workstations, occupancy limits, and the high air exchange rate significantly reduce the risk of spread even when social distancing is problematic.  Our cleanroom reopened for limited use in May, including several lab courses during Fall Semester.  To date, I am unaware of any lab member infected while using the cleanroom - although a few have been elsewhere.

tonyO


Tony Olsen
Nanofab Cleanroom Supervisor/Process Engineer
University of Utah
36 S Wasatch Drive, Suite 2500
Salt Lake City, UT  84112
801-587-0651
www.nanofab.utah.edu



From: Robert Vandusen <RobertVandusen at cunet.carleton.ca>
Sent: Tuesday, December 15, 2020 10:29
To: labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu
Subject: [labnetwork] Question about cleanroom mask policies

Hi all.
Hope this finds everyone safe.
Now that N95s are starting to become a bit more accessible, there has been some recent discussion within our labs about whether to adopt an N95 mask policy for new users and when distancing is a challenge.
So far we have just been wearing the standard cleanroom style masks.
Just wondering what other labs have been using.

Thanks
Robert Vandusen
Technical Officer, Microfabrication Lab
Electronics Department
Carleton University
room: 4184 Mackenzie Building
613-520-2600<tel:613-520-2600> ext 5761
Robert_vandusen at cunet.carleton.ca<mailto:Robert_vandusen at cunet.carleton.ca>

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