Anti-static floor mat and conductive floor
In the EPA where anyone handling ESDS items does not wear a wrist strap, an anti-static mat or a grounded conductive floor mat must be used. In this case, personnel should use wrist straps, heel straps or conductive shoes.
All Level 1 facilities should use ESDP floors or mats.
It is very important to properly clean and maintain conductive floors, because the use of ordinary floor wax on conductive floors or floor mats will destroy its effectiveness. Those who clean these items should use the manufacturer's approved cleaning agents and cleaning recommendations as minimum requirements. If the manufacturer’s recommendations are not accepted, under the guidance of ET&V officials, the facility ESD monitor will determine the floor and mat cleaning plan.
The maximum ground resistance of the conductive/dissipative floor or grounded conductive/dissipative floor mat should be 1×109 ohms, and the minimum resistance should be 1×105 ohms. The floor test method can be found in ESD S7.1 "ESD Association Standard Test Method for the Protection of ESDS Projects-Material Resistance Characteristics-Floor Material".
Standard carpets cannot be used in EPA. Even the use of ESDP carpets woven with conductive fibers that were previously approved for use on JSC is still a problem. If the conductive fiber is not dense enough, the ground resistance will increase as the carpet wears. The selection of carpet in an EPA environment must first obtain pre-installation approval from the ET&V director.