Fume extraction

William Minter <wdm14<-at->psu<.>edu> writes

>At Penn State, we are designing a new conservation center.  As one
>would expect, there will be the occasional need to use ethanol or
>other solvents to treat oversize materials in a large wash sink.
>While working with our Environmental Health and Safety Department,
>the suggested design was a complete enclosure that requires corner
>posts.  Obviously, such corner supports will interfere with the use
>of the sink when two people need to handle an item.  We are looking
>for alternative designs that have been accepted by EHS and would
>appreciate hearing from colleagues who have specifications.

If your EH&S people would like to talk to me, I would be happy to
talk to them and help without charge.  By way of introduction, I
have planned the ventilation and safety features as a consultant to
architects on about 80 buildings since 1983 and one of my buildings
just won a 2016 AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) award as one
of the top 10 buildings in the country.

To provide a heads up:

    EPA will be *very* interested in any sink that requires
    ventilation since no chemical that requires ventilation should
    be going down a drain.  Unless this "sink" is one whose waste is
    going to a containment tank, it should not involve use of enough
    solvent to require ventilation.

    The school's waste water permit needs to be read over by EH&S.
    That is the first thing I need to do when planning any building.
    The discharge limits are different in each location because each
    goes to a unique treatment plant that discharges to a different
    body of water.  So the local laws often are more stringent than
    EPA's rules.  And lord help the school that discharges to a
    septic system that contaminates ground water.

    As for the hood itself, 4 pillars are not needed.  A hinged
    baffle system can be used that will open the sides of the
    enclosure when needed.  The draw should probably be achieved by
    a slot hood whose design parameters are in the ACGIH manual of
    recommended practice.  The amount of air drawn will depend
    primarily on the size of the surface to be captured and should
    be in the range of 125 cfm/ft2 with a capture velocity that is
    around 100 feet/minute over the area of the face of that hood
    when the baffles are closed.

Having planned a couple of facilities in Pennsylvania, I worry about
your finding an engineer who can do this.  You have tons of heating
and air-conditioning ventilation engineers, but the few industrial
ventilation engineers have jobs in industry and don't work
independently.  If you hire an HVAC engineer, I can almost guarantee
your system won't work.  If all else fails, I know a guy in Boston
who works all over the country (no kick back involved).

Monona Rossol, M.S., M.F.A.
Industrial Hygienist
President:  Arts, Crafts and Theater Safety, Inc.
Safety Officer: Local USA829, IATSE
181 Thompson St. #23
New York NY 10012
212-777-0062


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 29:47
                    Distributed: Sunday, May 1, 2016
                       Message Id: cdl-29-47-001
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