In addition to pollution caused by harmful emissions, people are increasingly exposed to a new hazard: growing environmental pollution caused by sound and, worse still, by noise. Constant stress resulting from noise can affect health in many ways and even make people ill. The consequences range from serious hearing damage to hidden symptoms that usually develop slowly over many years, such as sleep disturbances, irritability or nervousness.
Whereas measures can be taken in the home to reduce or avoid noise, this is often not possible in the workplace. Here, the employer has a duty to take measures to keep the sound pressure level as low as possible. As the requirements for cleanliness and purity in laboratory environments and production facilities –particularly in the fields of industrial production and packaging, as well as in analytical and medical laboratories– have increased immensely, particle-free and germ-free conditions are often essential here. Small, local cleanbench workstations or laminar flow cabinets serve this purpose and protect the work area from particles, germs and dust.
Many users find the inevitable fan noise to be a constant nuisance. It was therefore a particular priority for Spetec GmbH, in collaboration with a fan manufacturer, to develop a particularly low-noise fan design. The filter arrangement creates a laminar air flow within the working area. The purified air protects the sample from incoming particles by creating a kind of overpressure, acting like a curtain.
All laminar flow boxes in the CleanBoy® product range remain below the noise level of a typical office environment (55 dB) during normal operation. At this setting, the Spetec FMS 37 laminar flow module even produces a noise level comparable to soft music. Even at the highest power setting, the noise level does not exceed the limits prescribed for industrial workplaces (80 dB). In terms of noise emissions, Spetecs laminar flow boxes meet all requirements for minimizing noise pollution in the workplace. The achievable noise level corresponds to the current state of the art in fan technology. Spetec cleanroom units can be installed as stand-alone units in analytical laboratories, as well as in electronic and optical manufacturing facilities or in the packaging of medical or pharmaceutical products, or retrofitted as ceiling-mounted versions – without the need for major building work or modifications to existing air-conditioning systems
