Final draft standard released
Mount Prospect, IL
The ISO Technical Committee 209 (ISO/TC 209) has released the final draft standard ISO/FDIS 14644-1, Cleanrooms and associated controlled environments-Part 1: Classification of air cleanliness. The standard specifies classification in terms of concentration of airborne particles. The only particle populations considered are those with cumulative distributions based on threshold sizes ranging from 0, 1 micron to 5 microns. It does not characterize the physical, chemical, radiological or viable nature of airborne particles. In the final draft stage, ISO nations have 60 days to either vote down the document or adopt it as a formal standard, as reported earlier (see “New ISO/TC 209 document outlines master plan for cleanroom construction,” August 1998, page 1). — TGW