Fume hoods
Fume hoods are the primary engineering control when working with hazardous materials in laboratories. A fume hood is a partially enclosed workspace intended to contain contaminants within the hood and then exhausted outside.
When used properly, hazardous gases and vapors generated inside the hood are captured before they enter the breathing zone. This serves to minimize your exposure to airborne contaminants.
The three types of fume hoods on campus are:
| Conventional fume hoods | High performance fume hoods | Variable air volume |
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Regardless of the type of fume hood, it is important to work within these fume hoods with the sash opened at the recommended height (15 cm). Fume hoods are installed and calibrated to maintain the air velocity within regulatory requirements at the 15 cm opened sash height.
Fume hood guidelines
The following videos demonstrate fume hood containment in common equipment configurations found in the laboratory. Each fume hood was tested prior to equipment installation and was found to meet the flow and containment requirements. Mechanical flow to the fume hood was constant with the variable being equipment configuration changing.
Testing & maintenance of fume hoods
WorkSafeBC Regulations mandate that the airflow and containment of fume hoods must be tested and certified:
For problems with the physical structure of fume hoods (such as damaged airfoils, jammed sashes, etc.) please report to Facilities Management at 250-721-7616.