LEV TESTING AND INSPECTION

Safe Plant engineers are trained to BOHS P601 standards to undertake LEV Testing. All our LEV surveys are carried out in accordance with the relevent COSHH regulations adhering strictly to Health and Safety guidance HSG 258. (Controlling airbourne contaminates at work. A guide to local exhaust ventilation)

LEV testing is a requirement that all employers are legally obliged to undertake to determine the effectiveness of their extraction plant. Quantitative and qualitative tests are carried out to allow the engineer to make an assessment of the system. Engineers analyse the results and use invaluable experience to identify design flaws, defects and maintenance issues that might affect the performance of an LEV system.

Upon completion of onsite LEV testing a report is produced. The report is written in strict accordance to regulation guidance detailing the findings of the survey and any comments and recommendations that are relevant, including remedial work which may be required to ensure the Extraction System continues to perform to design criteria.

LEV systems remove airborne hazardous materials. They can range from an individual ventilation cabinet to a multi-point system that operates throughout the site. LEVs capture hazardous or toxic substances at source before they can enter the breathing zone of the person using it.

This minimises their release into the environment and protects the health and safety of people both inside and outside the workplace.

The COSHH regulations apply to every company that either uses or produces hazardous substances in the workplace, such as vapours from glue or paint or the fumes generated when soldering or welding. They apply to substances and materials that have already been classified as ‘very toxic’, ‘toxic’, ‘harmful’, ‘corrosive’ or ‘irritant’, and nuisance materials such as limestone and plaster of paris.

COSHH regulation 9 states that where a LEV system is in place there is a requirement to thoroughly examine and test the system at least once every 14 months to ensure that it is in good working order. The tests must be recorded and kept for at least five years. Whoever carries out this work must be a competent person and have had sufficient training and experience.

Ideally, the person who performs the inspection and tests should also be independent from the person who engages in regular maintenance of this equipment.