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Subject:
Re: Fume Hoods
Date:
Sep 22, 2011 01:42 UTC
Author:
Rob Toreki <info**At_Symbol_Here**ILPI.COM>
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Subject:
Green Fume Hoods
Date:
Sep 22, 2011 09:53 UTC
Author:
Osterby, Meg <OsterbyM**At_Symbol_Here**WESTERNTC.EDU>
From:
JAKSAFETY**At_Symbol_Here**AOL.COM
Subject:
Green Fume Hoods
Date:
Sep 22, 2011 09:53 UTC
Reply-To:
DCHAS-L Discussion List
In-Reply-To:
I agree with Ken. There are many applications where the new Gree
n
Fume Hood technology from ERLAB makes good safety, environmental and financ
ial
sense.
Butler University is using a dozen GFH units in there organic chemistr
y
labs. JoAnn Butler is the lab manager at Butler. Ask her how it
's
going.
James A.
Kaufman, Ph.D.
Chair, ICASE Committee on Safety in Science
Education
International Council for Associations of Science Education
www.icaseonline.net
Preside
nt/CEO
The
Laboratory Safety Institute (LSI)
A Nonprofit International Organiza
tion
for
Safety in Science and Science Education
192 Worcester Road,
Natick, MA 01760-2252
508-647-1900 Fax: 508-647-0062 Skype: labsafe
C
ell:
508-574-6264 Res: 781-237-1335
jim**At_Symbol_Here**labsafetyinstitute.org www.labsafetyinstitute.org
P We thank you for printing this e-mai
l only if
it is necessary
Original Message:
I feel much more positive about the use of the latest Green
Hood
technology available from Air Master Systems Corp (Don Nelson, 231.798.1111
.ext
40). We have not felt comfortable installing the standard charcoal filter
ductless hoods but we have just installed 13 Green Hoods in a less toxic
situation than what you describe. The savings are quite significant in
installation and operation. These guys make great conventional vented hoods
as
well as non-vented fume hoods so they do not push just one technology becau
se
that is all they have.
I take a balanced approach when evaluating wh
at
fume hood system to use. There are obvious exceptions to what I can simply
state
here: First, almost all exhaust air in most situations should be exhausted
by
fume hoods. So standard room exhaust required for the necessary air exchang
es in
a typical laboratory should be exhausted through fume hoods. Doing this let
s you
utilize the expensive makeup air for two purposes, air exchanges and fume h
ood
exhaust. After that, you need to make an assessment of the safety and costs
of
using various types of hoods. One factor to take into account - if you crea
te a
mixed environment of hoods, how well can you train your researchers to use
the
appropriate hood for any given procedure and how responsible are they. In o
ther
words, will they use the right hood?
Looking at the compounds you
mentioned, on a 6' Green Hood you would capture about a kilogram of carbon
disulfide or sulfur dioxide before the first set of filters were breached a
nd
the chemical sensors went off. There is still another kilogram of capacity
in
the filters after the fan and chemical sensors but I would treat the hood a
s no
longer usable. Knowing how much it can capture before a filter change is
necessary, you can then evaluate the suitability for your own application.
They
have tested the capture capacity for thousands of compounds. Erlab really k
new
what they were doing when they developed these filters. If you call Air Mas
ter
Systems, they can do an evaluation of your needs and let you know which
technologies will work well, conventional or their Green Hoods. They sell b
oth
and I have never seen them push for a Green Hood where it did not make
sense.
I was also impressed with the sensitivity of the sensors. Bes
ides
the fume hood sensors, they also have a sensor in the hood to test the air
in
the lab. The lab sensor went off when they were cleaning some lab benches w
ith a
solvent during installation. There was not that much of an odor from the sm
all
amount of solvent but the sensors picked it up.
These Green Hoods ar
e not
suitable for all applications but they definitely have their place. There a
re
even some very unique nuisance situations where a conventional carbon filte
r
ductless hood is an appropriate solution but I am much more comfortable wit
h
these Green Hoods.
Ken Simolo
Chemistry
University of
Rochester
====================
===
Dear
colleagues:
We
are in the process of building a new Laboratory and contemplating between u
sing
Dustless Fume Hoods vs. Ducted Exhaust Hoods. We will be using a variety of
hazardous chemicals including carbon disulfide, acetonitrile, toluene, benz
ene,
some carcinogenic suspect chemicals, hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide
gases.
I
appreciate sharing your experiences with ductless fume hoods and whether yo
u
recommend these type of hoods for hazardous chemical work using the
aforementioned chemical examples as well as advantages and disadvantages of
these hoods vs. the ducted exhaust hoods (safety concerns, costs, maintenan
ce,
etc.)
Thanks,
Michael
Hojjatie, Ph.D.
R&D
director, TKI
