Local Exhaust Ventilation | LEV | LEV Testing and Examination | Local Exhaust Ventilations | LEV's

Local Exhaust Ventilation

The objective of the regulations

To provide effective means of control from exposure to substances that are hazardous to health, which are handled, produced or processed in ways that result in dust, fumes or gases being given off to the workplace atmosphere.

Who the regulations apply to

The need to install an LEV system will often be determined after an assessment of exposure to the contaminant concerned has been performed. Such assessments will involve taking samples to indicate personal exposure. After these assessments, if the substance released into the work place atmosphere is deemed “at an unsafe level”, controlled measures should be taken in accordance with COSHH General Code of Practice and HSG258 (Supercedes HSG37 and HSG54).

LEV’s and COSHH Regulations 2002

• Regulation 7 requires that the exposure of employees to substances hazardous to health be either prevented or where that is not reasonably practical, adequately controlled.
  
  
• Regulation 8 states that there is a duty on the employee to use any LEV provided and to report any defects observed.
  
  
• Regulation 9 requires that any control measure taken to comply with Regulation 7 must be maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair and specifies that records shall be kept of the results of the tests, including details of any repairs carried out as a result of the examinations and tests. These records have to be kept for a minimum of 5 years.

A mandatory test on each LEV shall be carried out at a period of no longer than 14 months. PPE is the last line of defence and should be avoided where practicably possible.

How we assist in achieving compliance

• Conduct a survey on each LEV system; this will document all the relevant information including the specifications for the fans, motors, ducting, hoods and fume cupboards as required by the regulations.
  
  
• Produce a diagrammatic sketch for each LEV indicating the necessary test points. This is used as a reference by the examiner, the company and/or any H&SE audit.
  
  
• Examinations are carried out by our trained and experienced engineers using the latest technology to achieve accurate results
  
  



• To aid compliance with regulation 8, the test points are distinctly marked, using labels detailing the individual test point number and the next test due date.
  
  
• All the necessary documentation and test results are presented in a dossier, to provide you with an easily manageable process for safe system compliance.
  
  
• Our bespoke computer software maintains the records of your systems and gives one month’s notification of when these are due for examination.
  
  
• Testing of the LEV systems should create little or no disruption to your process as the unit should be in normal operating conditions at the time of testing.
  
  

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Local Exhaust Ventilation

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