NEWS

HEPA FILTER SCAN TEST CONSIDERATIONS FOR

ISOLATION ROOMS
HEPA filters within the hospital
applications are required to be Access panel,
typically with clear
tested annually or whenever plastic taped over
opening
moved or disturbed, to confirm Lin
eo EXHAUST
effective operation and no breach f si
te

of integrity. Negative air

pressure (-ve)

For exhaust air applications such

100 % Port
as isolation rooms or cytotoxic Sealed ceiling Concentration
areas, a photometer is used access panel
HEPA and pressure

Ceiling
to scan the entire HEPA filter
Negative (-ve)
surface for pinhole leaks that
could allow the transmission SPARGE PIPE

of contaminant particles that Aerosol introduction

would be unacceptable in a Aerosol

Generator
critical application. (Laskin
Photometer
Raised access nozzles)
Ladder platform
The most-common onsite HEPA or similar
integrity test method is the Cold
DOP test, as described in AS1807.6
and 1807.7.

Important considerations:
• Access is required to the air off side of EXHAUST
the HEPA filter (within the exhaust duct),
so that a NATA technician is able to
view and scan the HEPA filter surface
at 25mm from the installation for traces
of the test aerosol.
• Access to the exhaust duct via access
panel may cause a decrease in air
pressure within the exhaust stream,
affecting the required flow of test
aerosol that is pulled through the HEPA.
In this instance it is sometimes necessary
to use blower fans to provide a flow of
air across the filters.

Airepure are a NATA accredited

organisation that complies with the
requirements of ISO/IEC 17025:2005
Lin

(Airepure Australia Accreditation

eo

Number: 19257/20231).
f si

100 % Port
te

Positive (+ve) Negative (-ve)

HEPA

Aerosol introduction
We provide a range of professional
on-site NATA testing services
FAN

These services include:

Photometer Rear access
point, from
• HEPA filter integrity testing adjacent
space
• Particle counting
Floor Level
• Room pressure differential testing
• Assessment of room air change rates

For more information, visit www.airepure.com.au

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