Abstract: A personal exhaust system for individual use by the members of a surgical team in an operating room. It may be employed in conjunction with a disposable hood or combination hood and gown worn by each such person. Each system includes a d.c. powdered motor and blower unit adapted to be connected, via a light weight power cord to an a.c.-to-d.c. converter and transformer, or switching mode power supply. A filter is utilized to remove contaminants from the air before it exhausts to the atmosphere. Each unit is provided with its own on-off switch and the flow of air for each unit is individually controlled. A battery back-up allows for short excursions away from the power supply. In another embodiment, fresh filtered air may be directed into the hood simultaneously with removal of stale air from the hood and its subsequent filtered exhaustion to the atmosphere.