Types of Fume Hoods and Safety Tips

Fume hoods are laboratory accessories that forestall workers from being exposed to hazardous and dangerous fumes whereas operating on them. In the early days, they were created of wood. Today, they are created of gentle steel coated with epoxy. The change in construction and vogue has been introduced to make them safer for laboratory workers. There are two main varieties of hoods, the ducted and the re-circulating ones. In both units, air is drawn in from the front of the cabinet by use of an admirer, and either expelled outside the building or filtered then fed back to the workplace.

Re-circulating fume hoods

This kind of hood is used for educational functions, or in buildings that do not allow external ductwork to be fitted. In addition, this hood includes a fan fixed on high, or below the worktop. It sucks air through the opening in front of the hood and later through a filter; the air passes through the fan and finally is fed back to the workplace. Re-circulating fume hoods or customary size fume hoods are of different sizes. Their sizes vary from 4' to 8'. However, some companies will build hoods to suit your laboratory specifications.

The main disadvantage of this type of hood is that employees working close to those fume hoods are additional seemingly to be exposed to harmful chemicals than when using ducted fume hoods. The opposite health concern is that staff working close to this hood are exposed to noise as a result of the extract fan is near the workplace.

Ducted fume hoods

These type of fume hoods are for industrial functions. They remove air from the workspace and disperse it into the atmosphere. In order to boost indoor air quality, some labs use single-pass air handling systems, where heated or cooled air is used once and then discharged. On the other hand, labs that need to minimize energy prices sometimes use return air systems that provide adequate ventilation rates and acceptable working conditions.

The main advantage of this kind of fume hood is that it allows workers to figure in a safe atmosphere by eradicating fumes from the workplace and by reducing noise pollution thanks to the distance of the fan from the workplace. The main disadvantage is that it desires further ductwork and so is additional expensive. It also pollutes the atmosphere as a result of it does not treat the fumes that disperse into the atmosphere.

Safety tips to consider when dealing with or using fume hoods

• If attainable, work with less hazardous materials to reduce the possibilities of exposure to harmful fumes.
• Build sure that the exhaust fans of hoods are functioning properly to make sure that your workplace is free from air pollution.
• Don't place your head within the hood to avoid exposure to harmful fumes.
• In order to minimize the price of energy utilized by hoods, continuously close the hood sash.
• Nothing ought to be stored or disposed within the hood to prevent the blockage of airflow.

To confirm that your fume hoods manage the hazards posed by chemical vapors or airborne substances, it is vital to let the professionals of the companies that build the hoods, install them if you are not acquainted with them.