From: Ellen M. Sweet <ems325**At_Symbol_Here**cornell.edu>
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Venting UNDER HOOD Flammable Cabinets
Date: Sat, 4 Mar 2017 16:33:17 +0000
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: DM5PR04MB076461EF23DD3205C81B9D259A2A0**At_Symbol_Here**DM5PR04MB0764.namprd04.prod.outlook.com
In-Reply-To <80ACA5EA-460B-4D95-B7E5-DB526E9FF416**At_Symbol_Here**smu.edu>


To vent or not to vent....

Personally, I've opened up enough cabinets, corrosives and flammables, and had vapors waft in my face so many times that I'm becoming sensitized.
That said, there is no replacement for proper management of the containers.
Flame arrestors that are not of high quality stainless steel will corrode and get dirty or the perforations will get blocked. Someone needs to be watching for this as time goes on and be prepared to clean or replace them.

Ellen


-----Original Message-----
From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety [mailto:DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU] On Behalf Of Chance, Brandon
Sent: Friday, March 03, 2017 6:28 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Venting UNDER HOOD Flammable Cabinets

Ralph, you hit it on the head.

My thoughts on this are that labs that are using the under hood cabinets for flammable storage are storing relatively small amounts (relative to full size storage cabinets, which I would not vent) and in many cases are storing secondary containers of various shapes, sizes, and seals. Not to mention, due to ease in access, researchers tend to store everything under the sun in the cabinets.

From an exposure standpoint, I would rather them be vented and in most cases, due to cost, they are not going to be vented directly to the outside per NFPA 30, but vented behind the hood baffles with the little inexpensive vent kits that manufacturers provide.

Insofar as the stakeholders, every research I have ever asked wants them vented so that they don‰??t stink.


Regards,

Brandon S. Chance, M.S., CCHO
Associate Director of Environmental Health and Safety Office of Risk Management Southern Methodist University PO Box 750231 | Dallas, TX 75275-0231
T) 214.768.2430 | M) 469-978-8664
bchance**At_Symbol_Here**smu.edu


"‰?| our job in safety is to make the task happen, SAFELY; not to interfere with the work‰?|‰?? Neal Langerman

On 3/3/17, 4:15 PM, "ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety on behalf of Stuart, Ralph" wrote:

>> >I have read a number of other university design standards and they are also inconsistent.
>
>I have seen similarly inconsistent approaches to this question from project to project even within the same institution with a single design standard.
>
>In my mind, it's a classic capital costs vs. operating costs question, as installing compliant vents for a flammable cabinet requires the expense and time of finding a protected route to the building's exhaust point. On the other hand, skipping the venting means that inventory control of the contents of the cabinet becomes very important to protect the quality of the stored chemicals and the exposure of the lab workers to unpredictable chemical emissions. So I think that the outcome of this discussion, as with so many lab design questions, will depend on the project budget and the relative priorities of the stakeholders in the design process.
>
>Good luck!
>
>- Ralph
>
>Ralph Stuart, CIH, CCHO
>Environmental Safety Manager
>Keene State College
>603 358-2859
>
>ralph.stuart**At_Symbol_Here**keene.edu
>
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>This e-mail is from DCHAS-L, the e-mail list of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety.
>For more information about the list, contact the Divisional secretary at secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org

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This e-mail is from DCHAS-L, the e-mail list of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety.
For more information about the list, contact the Divisional secretary at secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org

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This e-mail is from DCHAS-L, the e-mail list of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety.
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