A buffer area acts as a transitional sterile space between clean rooms and non-clean rooms, reducing the risk of contamination, while a clean room is a controlled environment with a specific cleanliness level.
Here's a breakdown of their differences:
| Feature | Buffer Area | Clean Room |
|---|---|---|
| Function | Acts as an intermediary space to minimize contamination when entering or exiting a clean room. | Provides a controlled environment with a low level of pollutants such as dust, airborne microbes, aerosol particles, and chemical vapors. |
| Location | Positioned between a clean room and an uncontrolled (non-clean) environment. | A self-contained space designed to maintain a specific level of cleanliness. |
| Purpose | To reduce the risk of introducing contaminants into the clean room or spreading them out of the clean room. | To protect sensitive processes or materials from contamination. |
| Cleanliness | Cleaner than a general environment, but typically less stringent than the clean room it serves. | Maintained at a specific cleanliness level, according to ISO or other standards. |
| Example | An anteroom where personnel gown and wash their hands before entering a sterile compounding pharmacy. According to HEPACART www.hepacart.com, it helps lessen the chances of cross-contamination. | A laboratory where sensitive experiments are performed, or a manufacturing facility producing pharmaceuticals. |
Essentially, the buffer area serves as a gateway to the clean room, providing an extra layer of protection against contamination. It is about minimizing the introduction of pollutants into the controlled environment of the clean room.
