CIBSE South West LEV Presentation. Part 1

© Vent-Tech Ltd – Adrian Sims
CIBSE South West Breakfast Seminar:
Understanding and designing
Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV)
Presenter: Adrian Sims
Part 1

Content:
 Introduction to LEV
 Legislation for YOU and YOUR CLIENTS
 Why LEV?
 Example LEV systems
Introduction

Assessment:
 10 short answer questions.
Course Assessment

Why LEV?

148 people killed in accidents at work 2012/13.
Why?

 8,000 cancer deaths and 13,000 new cases of cancer each year. - HSE
 13,000 deaths per year from respiratory disease - HSE - 36 people per day!
 There are currently an estimated 13,000 new cases of breathing or lung
problems caused or made worse by work each year among those in, or recently
in, work.
Health…

 2012 report by Stirling University’s Professor Andy Watterson:
“‘The burden of occupational cancer in Great Britain’ reports, the annual cash
bill exceeds £2 billion.”
“Cancer survival rates are improving, but the 13,000 plus new work cancer
cases HSE accepts occur each year don’t come cost free, even if they don’t
necessarily kill. Care of the sick, lost wages and welfare payments will add
hundreds of millions to the bill, minimum.”
Cost…

 2013/14 report by HSE:
Cost to country £9.4billion
Cost to south west region £781m
Cost…

 More than half of these cancer deaths were caused by past exposures to
asbestos (either mesothelioma or asbestos-related lung cancer).
 The next three biggest categories of occupational cancer were lung cancer due
to
 Silica,
 diesel engine exhaust, and
 mineral oils.
The stats…

 1.1 million people who worked during the last year were suffering from an
illness (long-standing as well as new cases) they believed was caused or made
worse by their current or past work. 0.5 million of these were new conditions
which started during the year.
 A further 0.7 million former workers (who last worked over 12 months ago)
were suffering from an illness which was caused or made worse by their past
work.
Currently…

Woodwork teacher wins health payout
Eric McCreery is calling for proper protection for teachers
A woodwork teacher who claimed his health problems resulted from his working
conditions at a Cardiff secondary school has won a £200,000 payout.
Eric McCreery suffered from allergic rhinitis and asthma which he said was due to
10 years of exposure to wood dust in workshops at
Llanishen High School.
Cardiff County Council made the payout to Mr McCreery
while not admitting liability.
Mr McCreery was supported in his action by his union, the
NASUWT, which said the payout should act as a warning.
The teacher said he had not been given protective clothing
and had repeatedly complained that the workshop was not
cleaned properly over a 10-year period beginning in 1987.
"I hope my case has highlighted the need for proper
protection and a clean working environment for all those in our schools and that
health and safety issues should not be neglected," said Mr McCreery.
Warning
NASUWT general secretary Nigel de Gruchy said: "The £200,000 should act as a
warning to all schools and local education authorities that they must take the
physical conditions under which teachers work much more seriously than they
have done in the past."
He said the union received a steady flow of cases concerning conditions in
workshops.
Mr de Gruchy urged worried teachers to contact union health and safety
representatives for a risk assessment, saying it was "better to be safe than
sorry."
The above information was taken from :
tp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/1594423.stm
I hope my case
has highlighted the
need for proper
protection and a
clean working
environment for all
those in our
schools
Eric McCreery
Is this new?
1997

 ~60% of LEV systems are not thoroughly examined and tested
 ~60% of those that are tested are not tested competently
 >60% LEV systems are not checked or maintained
LEV systems in the UK

One of several problems:

The main problems are:
 Employers often don’t appreciate the extent of
risk of exposure from their processes
 Employers and employees, are often over-
optimistic about LEV capabilities
 LEV buying – There has been no guidance and
employers are often misled and miss-sold
The control problem in a nutshell (1 of 2)

 LEV design
Often the LEV hood is not matched to the process and source(s) causing the exposure
 LEV commissioning
This is rarely done thoroughly and control effectiveness is usually missed out
 LEV checking and maintenance
Suppliers provide little guidance and employers don't do it frequently or systematically
enough
 LEV thorough examination and test (TExT)
Is often not done and when it is done - it is often incomplete and uncritical (it's not
"thorough")
The control problem in a nutshell (2 of 2)

The Human Story: Phil The Welder

Phil:
 Chest-tightness some years after first exposure
 Gave up work, but not straight away, aged 38
 Why did he carry on? Needed a job; young man couldn’t believe it was happening to him
General lessons:
 Asthmagens take time to cause their effects
 People often don't realise that an asthmagen at work is causing their ill health
 Diagnosis of occupational asthma can take years - meantime exposure continues
 The longer you are exposed after you have started to react, the worse the effects on your health
 There is no cure for occupational asthma
Key Points From Interview

 Initially came into effect on the
1st of October, 1989.
 Revised several times
 Latest version is the CoSHH Regs 2002
(6th Edition)
 CoSHH controls the way in which all
substances hazardous to health are used,
stored and handled on a premises
 Guidance document HSG258 (2nd Ed. 2011)
CoSHH Regulations

Guidance v Law?
Guidance is issued by the Health and Safety Executive.
Following the guidance is not compulsory and you are free to take
other action.
But
if you do follow the guidance you will normally be doing
enough to comply with the law.
Health and safety inspectors seek to secure compliance with the
law and may refer to this guidance as illustrating
good practice.

Requirements – HSG258
Selection of LEV responsible personnel?
To be competent – i.e. should have:-
 Appropriate knowledge
 Appropriate capabilities
 Necessary experience

 HSE Guidance Note HSG258 (2011)
 Replaced HSG37 and HSG54 in 2008
 HSE campaign starting in 2009 aimed
at improving design, use and
awareness of LEV
 Inspectors instructed to ‘target’ LEV as
part of their inspection
Local Exhaust Ventilation
 LEV Competence / training
 P600 Examination and testing of LEV
 P602 Design of LEV
 P603 P.P.E.
 P604 Commissioning of LEV
 W201Basic Health Effects
 Certificate of Competency in Control

Reg 6 - Suitable & Sufficient Risk Assessments
Involves:
 looking at the substances used or produced
 where and how they are produced
 quantities
 concentrations etc
 who uses them
 how they are used.
 what controls are in place to prevent harm?
Then summarise actual potential risks to the employees (or visitors,
contractors etc) and decide whether the controls are adequate.
Requirements - Regs

Reg 6 - you MUST…
 Record assessment (if 5 or more employees)
 Inform employees
 Review regularly – and - If suspect no longer valid, eg as a result of any
monitoring carried out or if significant change in work processes.
 Carry out the steps identified to control risk
 Consider results from the statutory examinations and tests
Requirements - Regs

Reg 7 - Prevention or Control of Exposure
By - Providing Controls
This means engineering controls - not merely to provide personal protective
equipment PPE (eg respirators)
Must use Hierarchy of Control
Requirements - Regs

Reg 7 - Hierarchy of Control
 Design and operate processes to minimise emissions
 Take into account all routes of exposure
 Control measures - proportionate to the health risk
 Choose the most effective and reliable control options
 Provide suitable PPE where adequate control cannot be achieved by
other means
 Check and review regularly all elements of control
 Inform & train on hazards and use of control measures
 Ensure do not increase other/overall risks
Requirements - Regs

Reg 8 - Use of Control Measures
Every Employer
 Make sure controls properly used and/or applied
Every Employee
 Make full and proper use of controls
 If discovers defect – report “forthwith” to employer
Requirements - Regs

Reg 9 Maintenance, Examination & Testing of Controls (TExT)
Every Employer must ensure all controls are maintained in:-
 Efficient state
 Efficient working order
 Good repair
 Clean condition
Requirements - Regs

Reg 9 Maintenance, Examining & Testing of Controls
Employer must ensure thorough examination & testing is carried out:-
 LEV – at least once in every 14 months – or more frequently if appears
in Schedule 4
 For other controls – at suitable intervals
 RPE (not disposable) – at suitable intervals
Requirements - Regs

CoSHH - Schedule 4

Reg 9 - Objective?
“To ensure that all control measures perform as originally intended and
continue to prevent or adequately control exposure ….”
Requirements - ACoP

Commissioning / Initial Appraisal
2 functions:-
 Show plant works - ie meets specified performance and is able to control
exposure
 Determine operating criteria
Requirements – HSG258

Welding
On-tool / On torch

Vehicles
Receiving hoods

Welding fume
Capture hoods

Part 2
 Assessment of hazardous substance & process
 Hood selection
 Typical plant design, layout & considerations
 Common design issues/Watch-its!
Course Programme

Part 3
 Commissioning, proving control
 Handover documentation
 On-considerations (testing, CDM etc etc)
Course Programme

CIBSE South West LEV Presentation. Part 1

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