What type of protection does a clean bench provide?

A clean bench is designed to provide product protection by creating a sterile environment for processes that require a high degree of cleanliness. It uses HEPA filters to filter out airborne particles, thus minimizing contamination of the materials or samples positioned within the bench. This protective feature is crucial in microbiological and other laboratory settings where maintaining the integrity of cultures, assays, or experiments is necessary.

While other forms of protection, such as operator safety and containment of hazardous agents, are important in many lab contexts, the primary function of a clean bench focuses on shielding the product from contamination rather than protecting the user or containing hazardous materials. Other types of biosafety cabinets or containment facilities are better suited for those purposes. Therefore, the emphasis on product protection correctly identifies the clean bench's primary role in laboratory safety and procedure integrity.