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Previous by Date: Subject: Chemical Safety Headlines From Google (7 articles) Date: Wed, 22 Jun 2011 09:01:10 -0400 Author: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" |
Next by Date: Subject: Re: Heat Recovery Wheel help needed Date: Wed, 22 Jun 2011 09:44:01 EDT Author: ACTSNYC**At_Symbol_Here**CS.COM |
I am so glad ACGIH took a stand on this in the face of this large push for sustainability, some of which makes a lot of sense, and some which makes no sense whatsoever if you have a building with hazardous chemicals, biologicals hazards and/or radiochemicals.
I had to fight tooth and nail to have these removed from the design of our new building; I won, due to some articles that (I think) members of this listserv brought to my attention. But this recommendation is much stronger than the articles.
Now I have an invitation to attend a "Low Energy Lab Design" seminar, which will discuss, among other things, "The goal of reducing laboratory air flow rates to two air changes per hour and how to safely achieve this." If you have a building where everyone is highly experienced and trained, the materials you are working with are fairly low-hazard--I can see this. But for those of you who keep tabs on this sort of thing--are they serious about trying to implement this in a building where you have a fair number of inexperienced researchers?
Margaret
the above is my personal opinion only, not business or legal advice, and may not represent the opinion of my employer or any group to which I belong...
>>> <ACTSNYC**At_Symbol_Here**CS.COM> 6/21/2011 10:49 PM >>>
Kim,
Re: heat wheels: The ACGIH Manual of recommended practice
specifically says these should not be used. The following
is a quote from page 10-11 of the 27th edition of the book:
"The use of a heat wheel should be avoided where there are
hazardous substances in the exhaust air stream since there is leakage
between the exhaust and supply air zones. To isolate these air
streams, wipers are employed to seal the spaces on the upstream and
downstream sides of the wheel. During the operating life of the
wheel, seals must be inspected for adjustment and replacement.
2;The casings in the energy wheel lose their effectiveness and need to be
replaced after several years. The drive motor and v-belt and
chain also require inspection and maintenance.
Care
also must be exercised when the exhaust air stream has a high moisture
content and the incoming air stream could be lower than 32 F. Whe
n it is below freezing outside, the cold incoming air could drop the
wheel temperature below the dew point of the exhaust air causing water
drops to form. These water drops could then freeze on the wheel
causing deterioration of the wheel materials."
But
it's the first line of the quote from the manual that is most
important: "...there is leakage between the exhaust
and supply air zones." Look hard at the mechanical drawings
of the heat wheel system. To believe that thing only returns
4% of the contaminated air to the building as the manufacturers claim
you'd have to believe that you can assign a section of a Jacuzzi for
peeing.
Monona
In a message dated
6/21/2011 4:21:44 PM Eastern Daylight Time, kauletta**At_Symbol_Here**NOTES.CC.SUNYSB.ED
U writes:
Do any of your buildings have a heat recovery wheel in the HVAC/Fume hood system? Our newest building has a heat recovery wheel installed for LEED certification but new researchers are questioning the safety of this system (energy research).
I do not understand how these systems work. The architect has forwarded some white papers, but these are vague, at best, on chemical safety data &testing.
If you have a heat recovery wheel in a chemistry building -
How did you determine it was safe to use?Do you have chemical restrictions? What criteria do you use for restricting chemicals because of this system?
Any help or insight you could provide is greatly appreciated!
Kim Auletta
Lab Safety Specialist
EH&S Z=6200
Stony Brook University
kauletta**At_Symbol_Here**notes.cc. sunysb.edu
631-632-3032
FAX: 631-632-9683< br style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 2; color: #000000; background-co lor: #ffffff">EH&S Web site: http://www.stonybrook.edu/ehs/lab/
Remember to wash your hands!
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