We are a
contracting firm that has worked on about a thousand perchloric acid
hoods from
New England to
The better places we have worked have a fairly short (1 page) form that incorporates elements of OSHA standards from 1910 and 1926: confined space entry, lockout/ tagout, fall protection, working and walking surfaces, heat/ cold stress, asbestos, and NFPA 70E and related regulations. The first section(s) on the form(s) identify “ownership” of the exhaust system and possible contaminants. From this section(s), a fairly simple hazard assessment or activity hazard analysis is done: is there the likelihood that there could be a physical/ chemical hazard associated with the exhaust system? If the answer is yes, then access is granted after the “owners” have cleared the area for access (with environmental/health/safety concurrence) from Level D (work clothes, no respiratory protection) to Level C or B (chemical protective clothing and respiratory protection appropriate to the hazard(s) and task(s)). At the really good places, who regularly enforce their program, it generally takes longer to get a parking permit and after-hours access than to get roof access. Sometimes it takes about a day to get roof access.
From the many comments already posted, if you think your facility is “good” by any definition, have an ASHRAE or other HVAC-type qualified person go on the roof with the fire department and the safety folks and look where exhaust systems and air in-takes are located. As Gomer Pyle used to say, “Surprise, surprise, surprise.”
George Walton
757-436-1033
From:
DCHAS-L
Discussion List [mailto:DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**list.uvm.edu] On
Behalf Of Frank Demer
Sent: Friday, October 30,
2009
2:37 PM
To:
DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L]
Roof top
exhaust fan maintenance Policy
This is how
we have
handled it at the
From:
DCHAS-L
Discussion List [mailto:DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU] On
Behalf Of ACTSNYC**At_Symbol_Here**CS.COM
Sent: Friday, October 30,
2009
9:37 AM
To:
DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L]
Roof top
exhaust fan maintenance Policy
Ideally, if they are
maintaining the
fans and people are not using the hoods while they are working, there
should be
no problem. I'd worry more about deposition of contaminants in the
fans
and ducts which sometimes occurs.
But this is only true if the stacks and fans were properly designed and
engineered. Instead, what I see on the roofs of most university
science
buildings are rain capped exhausts or exhausts that are so low that the
emissions
will put workers at risk who are on the roof. Hell, it's even
worse than
that--often the stuff is going right into the air handling units for the
general recirculating system for the building.
If the building was built to the ACGIH Industrial Ventilation standards
and to
local department of environmental protection standards, those stacks
would be
tall enough or specially boosted to exhaust only into moving air above
the
building. The height of the stacks should not be left to
architects (who
want no protuberances above the roof line) and engineers (who want to
specify
as much off the shelf equipment as possible). Instead, the height
should
be determine by standards and regulations.
If the stack heights are proper, the workers on the roof will not be
exposed to
the emissions. If they are, maybe a redesign is the way to go.
Monona Rossol
In a message dated 10/30/2009 11:49:21 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
stefan.w**At_Symbol_Here**UCONN.EDU writes:
In general, maintenance staff working on rooftop fume hood exhaust
equipment
have indicated their concerns about being on a roof, and possibly being
exposed
to whatever is being vented.
Does anyone else employ
a LOTO
policy?
Are roof tops
key-accessible
only?
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