Fume Cabinets and its uses

A fume hood also known as a fume hood, fume hood, or fume hood, is an extraction system used to capture and remove toxic dust, fumes, aerosols, and vapors to minimize exposure to safe levels.It is most commonly found in laboratories that handle such substances.As you probably already know, medical and pharmaceutical laboratories handle many chemical reagents, powders, solutions, biological dusts, and pathogens.If they become airborne, they could be inhaled by technicians, which could pose a potential hazard to their health.Even without regard to health hazards, they can cause cross-contamination if they are mixed with other materials in the laboratory.Either way, it is in the best interest of everyone's safety to control them at the source through fume hoods, or at least reduce their airborne concentrations.In the case of liquids, there is an additional risk of spillage.Harmful, toxic or corrosive liquids can pose a threat to people and other materials in the room.However, if the spill occurs inside a fume hood with a spill tray, the spill is not a danger to anyone.It is important to understand that a fume hood, unlike a biological safety cabinet cannot be used as a containment device.They simply reduce exposure by drawing contaminated air away from technicians and rooms.Therefore, they are not the correct extraction solution for highly toxic or infectious materials.However, if you need to ensure that chemical dust and vapors do not affect the health of your technicians, you really need to invest in a fume hood.

How Does a Fume Cupboard Work? 

A fume hood is a pentagonal box with a window or opening in the front.The window has a removable panel made of safety glass and the bottom of the box is flush with the work surface.This is where technicians can place materials, whether they need to be weighed or portioned.The top of the cabinet is a fume hood that draws in air from inside the cabinet.To prevent dust or vapors of the material from escaping into the air, an internal extraction system draws air from the open front, away from the technician.From then on, where the contaminated air goes depends on whether the fume hood is ducted or unducted.

Types of Fume Cupboards

Fume hoods can be of two types.

Duct fume hood

This type of fume hood draws in air through the open front and draws airborne contaminants inside, eventually expelling the impure air to the outside of the building.

Ductless Fume Hood

As with ducted fume hoods, air is drawn inside.However, instead of being excreted, it passes through a different type of filter.They remove dust vapor and smoke before recirculating clean air back into the room.Fume hoods can also be classified according to their use, as certain substances or processes may require specialized materials or construction. However, all of these will be piped or unpiped.

How to Use a Fume Cupboard Safely

It is critical to ensure that fume hoods are used properly to provide maximum protection.An extraction system may not be able to remove all contaminants from the air if used incorrectly or improperly.

Check before starting

Before you start using a fume hood, make sure it is working properly and that there is enough room inside to perform the tasks you will be performing. Without enough space,you run the risk of tipping or spilling materials.More importantly, this could mean that fume hoods may not be able to effectively extract contaminants.Essentially, you need to make sure the extraction unit is suitable for the job you will be doing.A pre-start inspection may also include checking the filters and making sure they don't need to be replaced.Fume hoods use a variety of filters depending on the application.These may include high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters, carbon filters, exhaust filters, and more.It is important to note that all of these filters need to be replaced at the correct time to be effective.How often they should be changed depends on the type of filter and how often it is used, so you should check the recommended replacement time for each filter.Inspection and replacement dates should be recorded in the system log to ensure that no change dates are missed.