Product category:
Air handling: Dust + Fume extraction
News Release from: Mechon | Subject: LEV assistance
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial
Team on 04 April 2008
Local exhaust ventilation systems and
COSHH
Mechon can provide assistance in ensuring that your LEV (Local Exhaust Ventilation) systems comply with current regulations and guidance notes, whoever designed and installed them
Are your employees properly protected from exposure to harmful airborne substances? If a Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) system is installed, does it meet minimum safety requirements? Has all environmental legislation been considered when designing your LEV system? Mechon aims to provide you with sufficient information to answer the above questions, ensuring that your processes and their control measures meet with the requirements under the COSHH Regulations 2002, and in turn, that your employees are properly protected Using chemicals or other hazardous substances at work can put your employees health at risk - the law thus requires employers to control exposure to hazardous substances under the COSHH Regulations 2002 (As amended)
This article was originally published on Processingtalk on 25 Mar 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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Any substance is classified as hazardous to health under COSHH if:.
* The substance is classified dangerous under the CHIP [Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations 2002].
* The substance has a workplace (occupational) exposure level.
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* The substance is a biological agent (bacteria and other micro-organisms).
* The substance is any type of dust.
There are three methods of control, listed in order of effectiveness: general ventilation, engineering controls (LEV systems); and containment.
LEV systems are the most common form of control, as they provide a suitable compromise between effective control and limited interference with the work activity.
One of the main issues within the industry is the fact that the majority of LEV systems are poorly designed - in many cases, PPE would prove more effective than these poorly designed systems.
What employers and system specifiers do not realise is that the HSE has issued a set of guidance notes detailing minimum safety requirements for LEV systems and (in an industry lacking any governing body) these serve as a good tool for evaluating existing systems or any newly proposed systems.
The publications include:.
* COSHH Essentials - Control Guidance Sheets (HSG193).
* An Introduction to Local Exhaust Ventilation (HSG37).
* Maintenance, examination and testing of local exhaust ventilation (HSG54).
Annual COSHH LEV tests are valuable in ensuring that systems continue to operate within their original design specification: they do not fully assess the effectiveness of the original design - this can only be achieved through exposure monitoring.
The guidance booklets provide crucial information on good hood design (considered the most important component of any system), methods of conveying, ductwork design, air cleaners, discharging to atmosphere, commissioning, and maintenance.
So remember: check to see if control measures are required on any of your processes, check to see if all LEV systems meet with the requirements of the Regulations, and ensure any new systems are installed to meet fully with the guidance booklets.
It is our aim at Mechon to ensure that all of our installed LEV systems comply with current regulations and guidance notes.
Don't forget: You can always contact Mechon for further assistance in all your LEV system evaluations, no matter who installed them.
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