GSA POLICY ON LOCAL EXHAUST AND OTHER VENTILATION (FUME CUPBOARDS) Local Exhaust Ventilation Inspection & Maintenance 1
LOCAL EXHAUST AND OTHER VENTILATION Contents 1. Introduction 2. Design specifications and standards of: Local Exhaust ventilation Fume cupboards 3. Inspection, Maintenance and Examination of LEV and other systems 4. Appendix 1 Extract from Regulations. Local Exhaust Ventilation Inspection & Maintenance 2
LOCAL EXHAUST AND OTHER VENTILATION SPECIFICATION AND DESIGN STANDARDS 1. Introduction This policy covers only ventilation systems intended for the control of harmful substances. Systems designed to provide general air changes or to control temperature/humidity are not included in this policy. This policy covers the mandatory legal requirements for maintenance and, inspection. Local Exhaust Ventilation covered by this policy will normally be provided in order to comply with the provisions of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) and will be one of 2 types: Local Exhaust Ventilation Fume Cupboard 2.1 Local Exhaust Ventilation comprises the following elements: captor hood air cleaning device (may be optional) fan discharge duct work Good design requires the fan to be at or outside the external wall to ensure the system within the workroom is at negative pressure. Each element of the system must be correctly designed both in itself and in relation to the rest of the system for the system to be cost effective in both installation and running terms and simultaneously provide the required degree of health protection. It is therefore GSA Policy that LEV systems shall be designed and installed in accordance with the principles set out in the HSE Guide HS(G)37 An Introduction to Local Exhaust Ventilation. This guide is, however, only a summary of the most important principles. If it is found to be inadequate for a specific design purpose, then the design and installation must be in accordance with the latest edition of the ACGIH publication Industrial Ventilation : A Manual of Recommended Practice (At the date of this policy it is in its 21 st edition). The need for an air-cleaning device will depend upon the nature and concentration of the contaminant and the location of the final discharge point. The Environmental Protection Act and subsidiary legislation and guidance should be consulted for further particulars. 2.2 Fume Cupboards a. Fume Cupboards Discharging to Open Air It is School Policy that all new installations shall be in compliance with BS 7258 "Laboratory Fume Cupboards". Local Exhaust Ventilation Inspection & Maintenance 3
The criteria for deciding whether some form of contaminant removal (whether by filtration, packed wet scrubber etc) is necessary are as in1.2 a) (above). For other fume cupboards not complying with BS7258, after assessing the degree of compliance, the School concerned will have 2 options: Implement a programme of upgrading Accept the limitations of the equipment and ensure health and safety by placing appropriate operational restrictions on the flume cupboard(s) concerned. This will normally require a notice posted on the equipment concerned clearly indicating the maximum acceptable hazard categories of substances, which may be handled. Failure to post such information would constitute a breach of the COSHH Regulations. 2.3 Fume Cupboards Recirculating Through Filters There are no British Standards and no specific guidance for this type of system. The specification, design and installation of such systems must therefore be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, and must be subject to a design stage health and safety appraisal. Since this design stage safety appraisal will take into account filter performance and break-through detection for specific types and levels of contamination, significant changes of use will required a new health and safety appraisal. A limited amount of guidance on re-circulatory systems is given in HSE guide: HS(G)54 "The Maintenance, Examination and testing of local exhaust ventilation". 3.0 Inspection, Maintenance and Examination of Local Exhaust and Other Ventilation These issues are also legal requirements under the COSHH Regulations. 3.1 Legal Requirements The COSHH Regulations and associated Approved Code of Practice require that ventilation systems (and any other control measures, including protective equipment, provided) are subject to regular inspection and maintenance. The 2 main requirements are: A thorough test and examination at not more than 14 monthly intervals. All engineering control measures (which includes ventilation) should receive a visual check where possible and without undue risk to inspecting personnel, at least once a week. The HSE have issued detailed guidance in publication HS(G)54 "The Maintenance, Examination, and Testing of Local Exhaust Ventilation". Local Exhaust Ventilation Inspection & Maintenance 4
a. Thorough Test and Examination The Estates Services have organised an annual inspection service using an external independent, competent inspector from Allianz Cornhill Engineering (Insurance Company). Dust Control Solutions will inspect, service and provide a detailed report annually. The first inspections will be undertaken in September 2004 following modification of systems. Re-inspection is annual - thus exceeding the legal minimum standard. The Estates and Health and Safety Department keeps records centrally, but defect reports are issued immediately to Schools in the event defects are found during the inspection. The Health and Safety Department is responsible for ensuring that his inspection programme meets the HSE criteria given in HS (G)54. b. Weekly Visual Checks Schools and are responsible for implementing this requirement for each of their ventilation systems to the standards in HS(G)54. Where a flow indicator or flow failure alarm (with a high pre-set level and fail-safe mode of operation) is installed, the weekly check need only comprise confirmation of flow rate adequacy. For less sophisticated systems, the system should be evaluated against the criteria in HS(G)54 and appropriate inspection check-lists developed. (See checklist for the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Guidelines document.) The Technician in each workshop/studio is responsible for these weekly checks. Local Exhaust Ventilation Inspection & Maintenance 5
Appendix 1 Extract from the COSHH Regulations Maintenance, Examination and Test of Control Measures etc 9-1. Every employer who provides any control measure to meet the requirements of regulation 7 shall ensure that it is maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair. 2. Subject to regulations 17(3) (which relates to transitional provisions), where engineering controls are provided to meet the requirements of regulation 7, the employer shall ensure that thorough examinations and tests of those engineering controls are carried out - a. in the case of local exhaust ventilation plant, at least once every 14 months, or for local exhaust ventilation plant used in conjunction with a process specified in column 1 of schedule 3, at the interval specified in the corresponding entry in column 2 of that Schedule; b. in any other case, at suitable intervals. 2. Where respiratory protective equipment (other than disposable respiratory protective equipment) is provided to meet the requirements of regulation 7, the employer shall ensure that at suitable intervals thorough examinations and, where appropriate, tests of that equipment are carried out. 3. Every employer shall keep a suitable record of the examinations and tests carried out in pursuance of paragraphs (2) and (3) and any repairs carried out as a result of those examinations and tests, and that record or suitable summary thereof shall be kept available for at least 5 years from the date on which it was made. Extract from the COSHH Approved Code of Practice Maintenance of all Control Measures 55. All engineering control measures in use should receive a visual check where possible and without undue risk to maintenance personnel, at least once every week. 56. Preventive servicing procedures should specify which engineering control measures require servicing, the nature of the servicing that should be carried out to each of them, when the task should be carried out, the allocation of responsibility and how any defects disclosed should be put right. 57. Where the control measures include operational procedures, these should be reviewed periodically to ensure that they are still effective. 58. In accordance with the requirements of regulation 12(3), whoever carries out any function for the purposes of regulation 9 should be competent to do so. Local Exhaust Ventilation Inspection & Maintenance 6