I was looking at the OSHA Lab Standard regarding the fume hoods and how often they should be certified. It only says that they shall be maintained and functioning properly.  That is pretty vague language and I could swear I read somewhere on OSHA that said OSHA refers to the ANZI standard Z9.5 regarding certification and proper functioning. I was under the impression that they should be at least tested and certified annually but need to verify this with a OSHA regulation so that the powers to be understand this is not something I just made up but something that is a regulation and has to be done.

Can anyone point me in the right direction to help me connect the dots?  Thank you for your help!

Sincerely,

Todd Melgreen

Margaret,

 

My 2 cents.. Many years of testing fume hoods  taught me that constant volume hoods are perfectly safe to use at 15 inch sash height  at 80-120 FPM .  Train the users to use it at that height or lower and  put a piece of colorful tape to delineate 6 inches inside the hood surface, in the case it does not have a proper air foil.  If the room does not have supply air, you may have a hard time opening the door when the hood is running.  Give me the hood manufacturer name if you have and I can track  it down for you .

  

  Best Regards

 

Yung Morgan, Lab safety and IH officer

EHS 117 Draper hall

U of Mass

413-658-7467

From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU> On Behalf Of Margaret Rakas
Sent: Friday, November 16, 2018 12:12 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Operating a fume hood w/Sash Height 15 inches max...

 

hi,

 

I wanted to check whether there are any health and safety concerns or any 'lessons learned' that would preclude using a continuous volume fume hood with a maximum sash height of 15 inches (rather than 18) if it passed ASHRAE 110 testing and had an average face velocity between 80-120 fpm.  We would train users regarding why the sash has to be at the 15 inches and there would be a sticker indicating maximum sash height.  It  is the sole fume hood in a lab, and would be used for mixing aqueous acidic solutions and dissolving rocks rather than complicated organic chemistry setups...I realize manufacturer's specifications are likely 18 inches (this is an old fume hood, probably from the 1980's) so looking up documentation on this is probably not going to be possible and might not be helpful, anyway.

 

A renovation several years ago turns out to have futzed the ventilation in this room; we're planning another renovation in the next year or so, but in the meantime it would be great to be able to use this fume hood if there are no regulations/guidance which would indicate it should not be used.

 

Many thanks,

Margaret

--

Margaret A. Rakas, Ph.D.
Manager, Inventory & Regulatory Affairs
Clark Science Center
413-585-3877 (p)

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