Management
of Chemical Fume Hoods and
Other Protective Equipment
1. Monitoring
Safety Equipment
Fume hoods must be monitored daily by the user to ensure that air is
moving into the hood. Any malfunctions must be reported immediately to
Facilities Management 218-726-8262. The hood should have a continuous
reading device, such as a pressure gauge, to indicate that air is
moving correctly. Users of older hoods without continuous reading
devices should attach a strip of tissue or yarn to the bottom of the
vertical sliding sash. The user must ensure the hood and baffles are
not blocked by equipment and bottles, as air velocity through the face
may be decreased. DEHS staff will measure the average face velocity of
each fume hood annually with a velometer or a thermoanemometer. A
record of monitoring results will be made.
If biological safety cabinets are used for Biosafety Level 2 work,
including handling human cells, they must be certified annually by an
outside contractor. The following is a list of Cabinet
certification contractors.
It is the responsibility of the
department to schedule and pay for the contractor to perform annual
certification.
Eye washes must be flushed weekly by the user. This will ensure that
the eye wash is working, and that the water is clean, should emergency
use become necessary. The user should coordinate with EHSO
218-726-7273 to ensure that emergency showers and eye washes are
checked annually. Fire extinguishers will be checked annually by
a
University contractor. The user is responsible for checking regularly
to ensure that other protective equipment is functioning
properly.
Environmental Health and Safety staff can assist with these
evaluations, should assistance be necessary.
General laboratory conditions must be monitored periodically by the
users. A generic laboratory audit form is included in Appendix G, and
may be tailored for use by individual laboratories. The departmental
Research Safety Officer or the University's Chemical Hygiene Officer
may also use this form for spot-checks of the laboratories.
2. Acceptable
Operating Range
The acceptable operating range for fume hoods is 80 to 150 linear feet
per minute, at the designated sash opening (usually 18 inches). If,
during the annual check, a hood is operating outside of this range,
EHSO staff may request that you check to ensure the baffles are
adjusted properly, and that the exhaust slots are not blocked by
bottles and equipment. If these adjustments do not help, EHSO staff
will report the deficiency to the appropriate Facilities Management
personnel for servicing.
3. Maintenance
During maintenance of fume hoods, laboratories must clean out and if
necessary, decontaminate the fume hood and restrict use of chemicals to
ensure the safety of maintenance personnel. See "Safe Practices During
Servicing of Exhaust Systems in Research Facilities" in Appendix E.
4.
Training
Training in the appropriate use and care of fume hood systems, showers,
eyewashes and other safety equipment must be included in the initial
and update training described in Section 5.
5. New
Systems
When new ventilation systems, such as variable air volume exhaust, are
installed in University facilities, specific policies for their use
will be developed by the Department of Environmental Health and Safety
and employees will be promptly trained on use of the new equipment.
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