Verify hood operation.
Validate employee protection.
Fume hood testing tells you how the equipment is performing. It does not tell you whether your people are protected. Face velocity and smoke pattern evaluations provide important information about fume hood performance, but they do not directly demonstrate whether laboratory personnel are adequately protected from airborne chemical exposures.
A-Tech supplements hood performance evaluations with
occupational exposure monitoring, giving you a more complete picture of
workplace risk.
Why Face Velocity Alone Isn't Enough
California Code
of Regulations, Title 8, Section 5154.1 requires laboratory-type chemical fume
hoods to meet certain face velocity requirements. Because of this, most
organizations rely on annual face velocity testing as their main indicator of
hood performance. That testing matters, but on its own it leaves gaps:
•
Acceptable face velocities do not guarantee adequate
containment.
•
Airflow disturbances, work practices, equipment
placement, and cross drafts can all reduce real-world hood performance.
•
Face velocity measurements cannot determine an
employee’s actual inhalation exposure.
Our approach
bridges the gap between equipment performance and employee exposure.
Our Services
Fume Hood Performance Screening
Our evaluation
may include:
•
Face velocity measurements at representative sash
openings
•
Smoke visualization studies to observe airflow patterns
and identify turbulence
•
Inspection of hood operating conditions
•
Documentation of observations and recommendations
•
Testing performed using good practices consistent with
principles described in ASHRAE 110 (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating
and Air-Conditioning Engineers) where applicable
Occupational Exposure Monitoring
Where chemical
use presents potential employee exposure concerns, A-Tech supplement hood
evaluations with personal breathing zone sampling. Exposure monitoring may
include:
•
Personal breathing zone air sampling
•
Area air sampling
•
Volatile organic compound (VOC) monitoring
•
Specific chemical contaminant analysis
•
Comparison to applicable OSHA, Cal/OSHA, ACGIH
(American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists), or other
occupational exposure limits
This evaluation
helps determine whether employees are actually being exposed during normal
operations.
Why Combine Both?
A fume hood may meet face velocity criteria yet still fail to adequately
protect users under site conditions. Factors such as cross drafts, nearby foot
traffic, work practices, or equipment placement can draw contaminants into the
operator’s breathing zone despite acceptable benchmark performance. By
combining fume hood performance testing with personal exposure monitoring, you
gain a more complete evaluation of both equipment function and actual occupant
protection – helping identify issues that either assessment alone may overlook.
Common Applications
We frequently perform evaluations for:
- Research laboratories
- Pharmaceutical facilities
- Universities
- Hospitals
- Biotechnology companies
- Manufacturing laboratories
- Chemical storage and mixing areas
- Quality control laboratories
