Environmental monitoring in pharmaceutical cleanrooms, explained in plain words. One cubic metre of air at a time.
Science communication for people who work in cleanrooms and anyone who wants to understand how it works.
Standards are read at a desk. Monitoring is done on the floor, with gloves on. ONE CUBIC METRE sits in between.
Latest issue
Issue m³ 00 · 14 October 2026
m³ 00 · Introducing the channel
What ONE CUBIC METRE and AROUND LAB NEWS are, and what you will find in the issues.
m³ in one number
- 1 m³ of air is 1,000 litres.
- A cubic foot, the unit many counters use, is 28.3 litres: there are about 35 in 1 m³.
- At 100 litres per minute it takes 10 minutes to sample 1 m³ of air.
- In Grade B the action limit for air is 10 CFU per m³ (EU GMP Annex 1, 2022, Table 6).
- In Grade A particles ≥ 0.5 µm must not exceed 3 520 per m³ (EU GMP Annex 1, 2022, Table 5).