Cleanrooms, which serve as the heart of critical manufacturing processes in industries like pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, semiconductor manufacturing, and aerospace, require careful consideration of seismic risks.
Earthquakes, with their potential to disrupt structural integrity, airflow, and equipment, can compromise the very essence of what makes a cleanroom effective: cleanliness and contamination control.
Seismic-rated cleanrooms are becoming increasingly important in earthquake-prone regions such as California, Oregon, and Washington
Seismic-rated cleanrooms are becoming increasingly important, particularly in earthquake-prone regions such as California, Oregon, and Washington. It is imperative that cleanrooms are designed to withstand seismic activity.
In this article, we highlight the six considerations cleanroom professionals need to keep in mind when building a seismic-rated cleanroom and why these precautions are vital for both operational safety and regulatory compliance.
Understanding the challenges
Cleanrooms are meticulously designed spaces that keep very low levels of particulate contamination. The key to their success is their controlled environment, from temperature regulation to air filtration.
However, when an earthquake occurs, cleanroom systems—such as air filtration, HVAC, and structural integrity—face significant vulnerabilities.
From the destruction of expensive equipment to contamination risks, a poorly designed cleanroom could expose an organisation to catastrophic losses
Earthquakes can disrupt the delicate balance of these systems and cause immediate contamination, jeopardising both operations and safety.
In fact, a 2024 assessment indicates that nearly 75% of the US population lives in regions that are susceptible to potentially damaging earthquakes including southern Alaska, California, Hawaii, and parts of the Mississippi Valley. “A key challenge in building a seismic-rated cleanroom is maintaining the precise environment required for cleanroom operations, while ensuring that the structure can withstand seismic forces,” said Mark Zabala, Senior Sales Manager at SERVICOR by Nortek Air Solutions CleanSpace. “Not only does the cleanroom need to maintain cleanliness requirements, but it’s critical that it is structurally sound to survive an earthquake and remain operable.”
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