Management of Chemical Fume Hoods & Other Protective Equipment

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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 (612-624-2900). 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. A list of contractors is available on the Biosafety section of the DEHS web site. 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 Facilities Management 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, DEHS 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, DEHS staff will report the deficiency to the appropriate Facilities Management zone office 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.