Dear members,

Hope the Summer is finding you well.  My question is about  chemical fume hoods purge buttons. Do you require them on all chemical hoods to quickly exhaust fumes in instance of a spill? How about room purge button?  Do most labs have them and are they tied in to fume hoods exhaust or just increase the room exhaust?  

We found ourselves using the purge buttons a lot to exhaust the room and the hoods  in an emergency. This is  to allow a  safer environment for emergency personnel to enter the area and do spill clean ups, particularly when the spill happens outside of the hood.

  Thank you for any thoughts or experience you may have.  Enjoy the rest of your Summer .

Best regards,

Yung Morgan, MsPH
Laboratory Safety
Industrial Hygiene Services
Environmental Health and Safety
117 Draper hall
UMASS,Amherst MA 01003
phone (413)  545-2682
Fax  (413) 545-2600
email : pmorgan**At_Symbol_Here**ehs.umass.edu