BGI 850-0

From BGI 850-0 - Safe working in laboratories

7.3 Deductions
At least annual inspection

Fume cupboards must be maintained regularly and their functionality checked and documented. The test must be carried out at least once a year by a qualified person. The annual inspection of the ventilation function can be omitted if a self-monitoring function check of the individual fume cupboard ensures that a drop below the minimum volume flow is indicated optically and acoustically. The permanent monitoring device must be checked at intervals of no more than three years.
Expertise and qualifications
A specialist for the test according to § 8 Para. 2 of the Hazardous Substances Ordinance is anyone who has sufficient knowledge in the field of the trigger test due to his technical training or experience and with the relevant state health and safety regulations, accident prevention regulations, guidelines and generally recognized rules of technology (e.g. DIN Standards, VDE regulations, technical rules of other member states of the European Union or other contracting states of the Agreement on the European Economic Area) are familiar enough to allow him to assess the safe working condition of deductions.
Continuous monitoring requirements
A technical device used for continuous monitoring signals, for example in the event of contamination, corrosion, exposure to chemicals, aging or in the event of errors in the electronics, the unavailability of the monitoring by means of a fault message, optically and acoustically. The devices currently on the market generally do not meet these requirements.
If necessary, a new test may be necessary after the conversion of the ventilation system (for example if the volume flows are affected).

Scope of the test

The regular check includes:

The

• the general visual inspection of the safety-related condition of the fume cupboard,

• the control of the sash mechanism for ease of movement, canting and noise; Depending on the operating conditions, suspension devices and weights may also have to be checked for damage,

• testing the ventilation function based on the manufacturer's instructions; For deductions that were put into operation before October 1, 1993, the following provisions apply as an alternative:

  • Table fume cupboards (height of the work surface 900 mm) require 400 m3 / h air volume flow per running meter of front length,

  • Deep draws (height of the work surface 500 mm) require 600 m3 / h air volume flow per running meter of front length,

  • walk-in fume cupboards (height of the work surface 0 mm) require 700 m3 / h air volume flow per running meter of front length,

  • Digestion fume cupboards (height of the working surface 900 mm) require 700 m3 / h air volume flow per running meter of front length.

The ventilation function can be checked regularly as a differential pressure or speed measurement in the ventilation socket above the fume cupboard or at the sash opening. The speed can be measured by determining the mean inflow speed with the sash open 100 mm high. Suitable measuring devices are, for example, thermal or vane anemometers.
The test of the ventilation function of fume cupboards with an installation date before October 1, 1993, which according to DIN 12924-1 from August 1991 or DIN 12924-2 "Laboratory equipment; Deductions; Deductions for open digestion at high temperatures; Main dimensions, requirements and tests ”from January 1994 are based on the manufacturer's instructions.
For information on testing, see BG information "deductions" (BGI 850-2) and (26).