Issue

When cigarette and cigar smoke posed too much of a gamble for some Grand Victoria Casino patrons, the owners of the 400-foot riverboat put their money on contamination control technology.

Today's cleanroom managers are faced with three basic choices when setting up a garment program for their company: to purchase the garments outright; enter a lease-to-own agreement; or simply rent the garments needed.

Fabric and garment manufacturers say they're up to the task. As part of an effective electrostatic control program, garments—and the fabrics that make them—are starting to get more attention.

There is very little written concerning why the regulatory bodies have so dramatically increased their attention in these areas. There has not been a significant increase in products deemed non-sterile due to environmental contamination.

Multi-gas monitor from Industrial Scientific Corporation; Spill kit from Sorbent Products Co. Inc.; Hydrogen peroxide from Solvay Interox Inc.; Eye/face protectors from North Safety Products...

Airborne particles in the presence of sensitive or sterile equipment or products can be disastrous to an operation. To prevent any such damage, cleanroom workers must often suit up from head to toe, which includes the use of boots.

Get pinched for dealing dope and you're in a world of hurt—jail time, forfeiture of property and a criminal record that follows you until the day you die.

Waiting for the next great breakthrough in cleanroom technology equipment is a little like watching grass grow. For all intents and purposes, we have a pretty well-established stable of products and equipment to choose from at this stage in the game, no matter what industry you're applying your contamination control measures. Any way you slice it, this is a well-served market.

Cleanroom floorboard; Wall panels; Air-cleaning filter; Cleanroom wall system...

At the end of my last column (CleanRooms, May, 2001), I concluded by suggesting something that is not politically correct in today's contamination control environment. At some point in the foreseeable future, the column read, we might once again ask the question about the acceptability of cosmetics in cleanrooms—but this time the answer will be in the affirmative.

A listing of industry events covering August to December 2001.

FRANKFURT, GERMANY—Talk of the downturn permeated the discussions on the floor at the fourth annual CleanRooms Europe. For many companies the decrease in sales to semiconductor-specific cleanroom technology is causing vendors to expand into other areas.

FRANKFURT, GERMANY—AT THE fourth annual CleanRooms Europe, cleanroom products manufacturer, ALMA Inc. (Palm Springs, CA), announced that as of July 2, 2001, they became a division of Illinois Tool Works (ITW; Glenview, IL.) Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

ROUND ROCK, TX/BOISE, ID—Dupont Photomasks Inc. (DPI) and Micron Technology Inc. have signed a memo of understanding that states the two companies intend to build an advanced photomask-making development facility.

Hal Sharpe, chairman of the cleanroom supplies and equipment firm, Hal Sharpe Associates Inc. (Chico, CA), died June 23 after a brief illness. He was 80.

WASHINGTON, DC—New regulatory initiatives on food safety as well as news and wire reports that target eggs as a leading cause of foodborne illnesses did not evoke the sunny side of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

LAGGA MARMA, SWEDEN—What do pharmaceuticals and semiconductor equipment have in common? Each of these products is susceptible to fluctuations in temperature when transported. Too cold can be as dangerous as too hot; either one can result in damaged or destroyed goods that have been painstakingly produced in a clean environment.

U.N. calls for worldwide food safety rules; USDA nails Big Apple meatpackers; SureBeam granted 10th patent...

KENILWORTH, NJ—Officials at schering-Plough Corp. refused to comment on whether the resignation of Raul Cesan, president and chief operating officer, was a result of the company's ongoing failure to comply with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) current good manufacturing practices (cGMPs).

SHENYANG, CHINA—In cooperation with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and local research institutes, China opened a research center for the development of nanotechnology.

ALBUQUERQUE, NM—Bug guts splattering across the windshield are often regarded as a rather gross occurrence.

A competitive contamination control journal recently carried the following headline: "Litigation Creates $15 Billion Fabric Filter Market." This pronouncement headed a short note that predicts explosive growth in the market for this type of filter as a result of settlements being reached between industry and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The ability of the sampling technique to recover the active compound is also a critical factor because it is very difficult to recover 100 percent. The ability of the analytical tests to measure a small quantity of the active compound determines what we call "zero."