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^ DIVISION OF FACILITIES Policy and Procedures Manual Date 10/21/09 Page 1 of 4 OPERATING POLICY - Final Fume Hood Maintenance Policy ^ Revision ^

PURPOSE: To establish a protocol necessary to safeguard workers when responding to equipment failures and scheduled maintenance on chemical fume hoods. For testing the fume hoods personnel must wear at a minimum gloves and goggles follow Appendix A algorithm. Facilities personnel will not be allowed to work on perchloric acid hoods. DEFINITIONS: Fume hoods are air capturing devices used primarily in laboratories protect the user from toxic or corrosive vapors. For the most part, on campus fume hoods are used to move low hazard or noxious vapors away from the breathing zone of the worker. However, there are some instances where high hazards are involved. These high hazard instances occur when fume hoods are used to exhaust: Radioactive Materials or Isotopes. Radioactive materials do not make the components of the fume hoods radioactive. Under normal circumstances the radioactivity is carried away in the effluent and does not coat the inside of the fume hood system. Occasionally, radioactive iodine is used in the fume hood and in this instance the iodine could bind with contaminants on the inside of the system making it radioactive. The radioactivity is very short lived however. The Department of Environmental Health and Safety can perform a simple test to detect this radioactivity. Radioisotope hoods must be properly cleaned by a laboratory worker prior to service. Facilities personnel should not perform work in radioactive hoods without testing from EH&S. Acid or alkali digestion. Some hoods are used for acid or alkali digestion. This process generates or uses quite a bit of heat and therefore a strong acid or base vapor is produced. The vapor can coat the inside of the hood and/or the duct with a strongly acidic or basic residue. The Facilities personnel can perform a simple PH test to detect this residue. Perchloric acid digestion. A special acid digestion process that is only permitted in special perchloric acid fume hoods. The digestion process produces volatile perchlorates that can combine with contaminants to produce an explosive residue. For this reason, wash down hoods are employed with perchloric acid digestion. The wash down should drench all surfaces of the fan, duct, and inside of the fume hood to prevent the build-up of dangerous perchlorates. The Department of Environmental Health and Safety can perform a simple test to detect perchlorates, but all contaminated surfaces must be washed down or steam cleaned prior to service. Facilities personnel are not allowed to work on perchloric acid fume hoods. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The majority of chemicals used inside fume hoods are VOCs. These include solvents life benzene, alcohols, ethers, and the halgenated solvents like

2 methylene chloride and chloroform. These halogenated and nonhalogenated compounds do not collect in a functioning fume hood. The Facilities personnel can use an electronic monitor such as photoionization detector (PID) to detect the presence of VOCs. Gases. Most gases will be carried away in a functioning fume hood. The exception are those gases which are heavier than air like bromine. If the fume hood is not functioning properly, these heavy gases can collect in the duct work by condensation and remain a liquid on the surface. The Facilities personnel can perform a simple pH test to detect contaminants. Contamination in fume hoods typically is found on the work surface of the hood, the lowest six inches of the baffle on the back side, the inside surface of the glass sash, and the area on top of the hood (Make-up air hoods primarily). The interior of ducts in the fume hoods system can also be a source of contamination to the hands and/or arms.

PROCEDURE: Working Inside Fume Hood Envelop 1. Minor Repairs will receive a work order indicating the need for chemical fume hood servicing. 2. Minor Repairs will be responsible to contact the Building User to clean the chemical fume hood in accordance to departmental guidelines. The Building User will ensure that fume hoods contents are emptied, inside of hood cleaned which includes all cabinets vented into the fume hood. 3. Facilities servicing personnel will follow the guidelines provided by Environmental Health and Safety (Appendix A) to ensure appropriate personal protection is utilized to safeguard worker against hazardous chemical exposure working inside the envelop. For testing the fume hoods personnel must wear at a minimum gloves and goggles follow the Appendix A algorithm. 4. Facilities personnel will be responsible to test the fume hood prior to servicing; conducting a Ph Test and a VOC Test. See Note: on appropriate test procedure indicators on page 3. 5. Facilities personnel will proceed with servicing if the test fall within normal range, if not Facilities personnel will contact the Building User that the fume hood needs to be cleaned again. 6. Facilities personnel will shut off and lock-out and tag-out fume hood prior to providing services. 7. Upon completion of equipment servicing the Facilities personnel will contact supervisor to submit work order closure. If air flow has been adjusted Facilities personnel must call EH&S 2-5856 so they can conduct a fume hood performance test. Facilities personnel completing the servicing should write the on the work order number, repair date and their initials on the test tag located on the fume hood. On the work order completion notification write the velocity test and smoke test results. All air flow velocities must fall in the range of 80 to 150 FPM (feet per minute) and for radioactive hoods 125 to 150 FPM.

3 Working Inside Fume Hood Duct Work Envelop /Drain System/Working Outside Fume Hood Envelop 1. Minor Repairs will receive a work order indicating the need for fume hood servicing. 2. Facilities servicing personnel will follow the guidelines provided by Environmental Health and Safety (Appendix A) to ensure appropriate personal protection is utilized to safeguard worker against hazardous chemical exposure working inside the envelop. For testing the fume hoods personnel must wear at a minimum gloves and goggles follow Appendix A algorithm. 3. Facilities personnel will be responsible to test the area prior to servicing; conducting a VOC Test. See Note: on appropriate test procedure indicators located at the bottom of this page. 4. Facilities personnel will shut off and lock-out and tag-out fume hood prior to providing servicing. 5. Upon completion of equipment servicing the Facilities personnel will contact supervisor to submit work order closure. If air flow has been adjusted Facilities personnel must call EH&S 25856 so they can conduct a fume hood performance test. Facilities personnel completing the servicing should write the work order number, repair date and their initials on the test tag located on the fume hood. On the work order completion notification write the velocity test and smoke test results. All air flow velocities must fall in the range of 80 to 150 FPM (feet per minute) and for radioactive hoods 125 to 150 FPM.

Test Procedure Indicators Ph Test: Range Neutral 7 Acidic less than 7 Alkaline greater than 7 If the PH is between 5-9 the hood would not need to be recleaned.

VOC-Volatile Organic Chemical: Range Above Zero to 50 ppm (parts per million) - Follow Appendix A Alogrithm for PPE 50 to 100 ppm (parts per million) - Contact the Lab Director/Division Safety Director 100 ppm and above (parts per million) - Contact EH&S/Division Safety Director

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Fume Hood Maintenance work inside or outside the fume hood envelope. Outside the envelope Inside the envelope

APPENDIX A

Safety goggles/hand protection

Safety goggles/hand protection

Will Exhaust impact the worker? Arms And/Or Hands

Body

Head

Hand Protection (2 pairs of nitrile gloves.) Gauntlet protection.

Is there liquid on surfaces?

Is there measurable VOCs or other vapors present?

No Tyvek (high density polyethylene) coveralls

Yes Coated chemical coveralls with sealed seams

Will exhaust impact the worker?

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No respirator

Negative APR Use combination organic/inorganic Cartridge Filter

No respirator

Negative APR Use combination organic/inorganic Cartridge Filter

SCBA