Acleanroom suit,clean room suit, orbunny suit,[1][2] is an overall garment worn in acleanroom, an environment with a controlled level of contamination. One common type is an all-in-onecoverall worn bysemiconductor andnanotechnology line production workers, technicians, and process / equipment engineers. Similar garments are worn by people in similar roles creating sterile products for themedical device,biopharmaceutical andoptical instrument industries.
The suit covers the wearer to prevent skin and hair being shed into a clean room environment. The suit may be in one piece or consist of several separate garments worn tightly together. The suit incorporates both boots and hood, designed to be breathable and lightweight while protecting the wearer.Polypropylene with apolyethylene coating, orTyvek polyethylene are standard. The materials found in cleanroom suits can also be found onpersonal protective equipment.
More advanced designs with face covers were introduced in the 1990s (like theIntel fab worker-style suits seen on thePentium product advertisements).
Suits are usually deposited in a storage bin after being contaminated for dry cleaning,autoclaving and/or repair. Some clothing items, such asnitrile gloves andshoe covers, may be disposed of after every use.[3][4]
The term "bunny suit" is also used forhazmat suits, worn by workers handling high-risk hazardous biological or chemical substances, as well as in thecontainment areas ofnuclear power plants. These suits consist of the main garment, hood, thin cotton gloves, rubber gloves, plastic bags over normal work shoes, and rubber booties.[5] The wrists and ankles are taped down with masking tape. Occasionally a plastic raincoat is also worn. Removal of the garments (into several barrels) is a complicated process which must be performed in an exact sequence. Often ahealth physicist is present in the work area to observe good anti-contamination practices.[6][7]
