New Cal OSHA Chemical Fume Hood Standard, Title 8, Section 5154.1

In the latter part of 2006, the CAL/OSHA Standard Board adopted the revised Laboratory Fume Hood Standard, Title 8, Section 5154.1. The major revisions to Section 5154.1 requires that all fume hoods must be equipped with a quantitative airflow monitor and fume hoods that are equipped with reduced flow/set-back sensors must be tested per ASHRAE 110-1995, Section 7. The fume hood standard becomes effective on January 1, 2008.

The Laboratory Hood Standard states:
Section 5154.1 (e) (3) (A) - Airflow monitor requirements
"By January 1, 2008, hoods shall be equipped with a quantitative airflow monitor that continuously indicates whether air is flowing into the exhaust system during operation. The quantitative airflow monitor shall measure either the exact rate of inward airflow or the relative amount of inward airflow. Examples of acceptable devices that measure the relative amount of inward airflow include: diaphragm pressure gauges, inclined manometers, and vane gauges. The requirement for a quantitative airflow monitor may also be met by an airflow alarm system if the system provides an audible or visual alarm when the airflow decreases to less than 80% of the airflow required by subsection (c)."
Section 5154.1(c) (2) (B) - Reduced face velocity requirements
"The laboratory-type hood has been tested at the reduced flow rate according to the tracer gas method specified in Section 7, Tracer Gas Test Procedure, of ANSI/ASHRAE 110-1995, Method of Testing Performance of Laboratory Fume Hoods, which is hereby incorporated by reference, and has a hood performance rating of 4.0 AU 0.1 or less. The test may be performed with or without the mannequin described in the ANSI/ASHRAE 110-1995 tracer gas method."

The complete text of the regulation can be found at: http://www.dir.ca.gov/Title8/5154_1.html

COMPLIANCE WITH CAL/OSHA FUME HOOD STANDARD

TSS can be of assistance to assure complete compliance with the new regulations. TSS has been in business for over 35 years and specializes in the testing of fume hoods and other ventilated hazard control systems.

TSS can provide the necessary fume hood airflow monitors, installation and testing services needed to comply with the new Cal/OSHA fume hood standard.

• Free Consultation Services to define client needs for Compliance
• Conduct an Assessment of the fume hoods that may require airflow monitors and/or ASHRAE 110 testing
• Demonstration of features of the TSS Apex Premier and Apex 1000 Airflow Monitors

• Required ASHRAE 110 testing (per CAL/OSHA Standard) for fume hoods with set-back sensors
• TSS Apex Premier and/or Apex 1000 airflow monitors to meet the new standard, as well as Installation of these airflow monitors for a nominal fee
• For clients choosing to utilize in-house personnel, we can provide instruction to Facility/Engineering personnel on proper installation procedures at no charge

TSS maintains offices that are conveniently located throughout California and can respond promptly to any request for consultation or services. For additional information regarding the new CAL/OSHA laboratory fume hood standard or schedule a meeting to discuss your facilities needs, please contact Allan Bier at 510-845-5591 or email him at abier@techsafety.com, you can also contact any of our California regional offices listed on our contact page.

First published in 1963, US Federal Standard 209E, which dealt with cleanroom classification and monitoring, was also used for several years by other nations. The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) worked with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to develop standards to be used by all of Europe, though each member nation had their own national standards as well. The need for a single standard for cleanroom classification and testing by which regulatory agencies and (multinational) companies around the world would comply was long felt, but it was never fully realized until 1992, when the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), backed by the Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology (IEST) petitioned ISO to develop an international standard that would be used on a global scale.

To that end, ISO formed Technical Committee (TC) 209 and began developing standards for cleanroom classification and monitoring that are now known as ISO 14644 and 14698. Seven years later, ISO/TC 209 saw IEST publish ISO 14644-1, the first international standard to deal with cleanliness classifications. ISO 14644-2 was published in 2000 and discussed the monitoring procedures required to remain compliant with ISO 14644-1.

The most marked differences between FS209E and ISO 14644 are the addition of 3 more cleanliness classes, new class designations, and the use of the metric system in calculating both the minimum volume of air and the dimensions of the test area. In general, fewer sample locations are required when following ISO 14644, though the required minimum sample time of one minute is longer than that for FS209E. Finally, per ISO 14644, the cleanliness classes are now calculated, a standard particle size (1.0µm) has been added, and there are guidelines for establishing periodic testing schedules.

European nations declared their own standards superceded by Parts 1 and 2 of ISO 14644 six months after the publication of each document, and the US reached that same conclusion in November 2001 when it declared FS 209E “cancelled and superceded”. However, there are still several companies in the United States that have not yet begun using the now-current standards.