February 3, 2006 — /IEST/ — ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. — The Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology (IEST) has issued Contamination Control Recommended Practice IEST-RP-CC023.2: Microorganisms in Cleanrooms. This Recommended Practice (RP) provides guidelines for the control and quantitative measurement of viable contamination in the air and on surfaces in environments that require control of such contamination.

The control of microorganisms is important in virtually any cleanroom, regardless of industry, due to the particulate nature of these organisms. The control of microorganisms is especially critical in the medical device, pharmaceutical, and food industries due to the nature of materials produced and their end use.

IEST-RP-CC023.2 outlines strategies for developing a microbial control program, presents an introduction to accepted methods for bioburden control and environmental monitoring, and discusses devices for the quantification of airborne and surface viable contamination. Specific topics covered in this expanded edition include implementing personnel contamination control procedures, establishing an effective cleanroom cleaning program, and designing a monitoring program. The document also describes disinfectants, their lethality spectrum, and techniques for their application.

Founded in 1953, IEST is an international technical society of engineers, scientists, and educators that serves its members and the industries they represent (simulating, testing, controlling, and teaching the environments of earth and space) through education and the development of recommended practices and standards.

IEST is an ANSI-accredited standards-developing organization; Secretariat of ISO/TC 209 Cleanrooms and associated controlled environments; Administrator of the ANSI-accredited US TAG to ISO/TC 209; and a founding member of the ANSI-accredited US TAG to ISO/TC 229 Nanotechnologies.

More information is available online at www.iest.org or by calling IEST at (847) 255-1561.