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A reminder that the Division is supporting a survey of lab safety professionals about the impact of changes in the recently published ANSI Z9.5 Lab Vent standard. We have more than 30 responses so far; please add your thoughts to the collection by February 28. Below is the original request for participation and a clarifying comment from the ANSI committee chair.
- Ralph
Dear Industry Professional
This past Fall, the revised ANSI/AIHA Z9.5 - 2012 Laboratory Ventilation Standard was finally published, with particular attention focused on setting the minimum airflow rate through a fume hood.
Until now, current guidance has traditionally relied on NFPA 45 and its recommendation to achieve 25 cfm/ft2 (457 m3h/m2) of fume hood work surface area. Industry experts realized that this one volumetric requirement for all fume hoods and their associated operations was not proper - a range of flows, in particular, interior air change rates (ACH) should be applied.
In 2011, NFPA deleted its recommendation from their NFPA 45 Standard, and referred the concern back to ANSI. Within the Z9.5 revision, there is now a recommended, non-binding ACH range (150-375), not a specific value. The standard puts the requirement back on industry and its health and safety teams to assess the potential hazards.
The change could have a significant impact on lab environments and resulting energy footprints. We are requesting your input through this brief survey to gauge the extent to which you and/or your site teams might be adopting the new guidance, and if there is a specific value (ACH or CFM/ft2) you will establish for your fume hoods.
For those who respond to the survey, we will collect the data and send you a summary of the findings. The survey results are purely used to gauge the impact of this revised standard and assist all organizations in establishing peer guidance, not for resale or marketing purposes.
Please click on the following link https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/chasZ95 to respond to the survey and reply with your responses by February 28th
Your input is greatly appreciated!
David A. Rielly, CEM, LEED GA
Global Energy Manager
Global Health, Safety and Environment
Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Inc.
Cambridge, MA 02139
USA
Office +1 617.871.4414
Mobile +1 617.301.2113
david.rielly**At_Symbol_Here**novartis.com
Subject: Re: ANSI/AIHA Z9.5 -_2012 Laboratory Ventilation Standard Fume Hood Minimum Airflow Survey
From:scrooks**At_Symbol_Here**PPEPPRO.COM
As the Chair of the Z9.5-2012 subcommittee, I want to thank David for his survey and for highlighting an important topic within the new standard - balancing safety with sustainability.
David mentions a "recommended, non-binding ACH range (150-375), not a specific value." Please understand that there is no specific value nor any range recommended by the standard. Again, there is no recommended range. The range David cites is mentioned in the explanatory column as it references seven published works where both safety and sustainability goals were reportedly met using that range. It is not meant to be a recommendation for that particular range however. You will note in the requirements column of 3.3.2 that values probably higher - and in some cases even lower than that range may be arrived at through a proper programming (hazard assessment effort.)
After reading the entire section in context, please let me know as users if you feel hat the subcommittee should issue an errata explaining this better.
I encourage you to participate in the survey. I don't think you necessarily need to read the new standard to take the survey. However, as you look at your own fume hood ventilation rates for safety or energy, I do encourage you to read the standard. Specifically, read section 3.3.2 within the context of left hand (shall) requirements found in both 2.4 and 3.3.2.
Thank you,
Steve Crooks, MS, CIH, CSP
ANSI/AIHA Z9.5 Subcommittee Chair
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