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  Fume Cupboards-Smoothflow-Student-Sashdrive-StreamlineSafety ControlScrubbers Regulations-The Building Act-Electrical Safety-AS/NZS 2243.8
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Fume
Cupboards A Brief
Guide to New Zealand Fume Cupboard Regulations In New Zealand,
fume cupboards are required by The Building Act to be tested for the Building
Warrant of Fitness, for which the owner of the building is responsible.
The nature and frequency of testing is specified in a compliance schedule
which is unique to each building and prescribed by the local Territorial
Authority (town council). An example compliance schedule is published
in The Building Code Handbook. In general, fume
cupboards must be audited to the Standard in effect at the time of installation.
"AS/NZS 2243.8 Safety in laboratories Part 8: Fume cupboards"
is the current standard, replacing NZS 7203. The Building Act allows that
the compliance schedule may specify an alternative Standard (eg DIN or
BS) for testing of individual fume cupboards, but this is rare, and must
be agreed by the Territorial Authority. All testing for
Building Warrant of Fitness must be carried out by a person having the
status of Independent Qualified Person (IQP), but IQP status is not required
for commissioning a new installation, nor for fume cupboard maintenance.
The Building Act
is not retrospective. In effect, only fume cupboards installed after 1991
(the date of the Act) must comply with the standard in force at the time
of installation. But if you relocate an old fume cupboard, or refurbish
other parts of the laboratory, the fume cupboard is considered to be a
new installation, and must comply with the standard. Many older cupboards
even refurbished, will not fully meet the Standard. Even if your fume
cupboard is older than 1991, you must still have an annual IQP audit,
for the building warrant of fitness. The audit should record all aspects
of non-compliance, and note any exemption for age. Audits must be in the
form of a check-list. Especially in
the case of very old fume cupboards, the audit can seem like trivial bureaucracy,
but the annual inspection has another vital role in respect of the Health
& Safety in Employment Act. You are bound by statute to "identify,
isolate or eliminate hazards". In the case of fume cupboards, AS/NZS
2243.8 is the reference for determining safe performance. The audit will
determine the limit of fume containment by velocity and smoke tests, and
will identify hazards arising from materials of construction, or location
of electrical controls, for example. Thus the audit
report can help you to write instructions for operating the cupboard more
safely, or recommend minor changes to reduce a hazard, without necessitating
an immediate upgrade to complete compliance. (However, we suggest that
most non-compliant fume cupboards are now over-due for replacement.) The standard specifies
that the fume cupboard and exhaust system must be maintained at least
annually. The IQP auditor should inspect your maintenance records. Both
the maintenance and audit reports can be filed together with internal
records of cleaning, etc. This log book provides a history which is particularly
useful for new staff. If you do have an accident, the log book will demonstrate
that your duty of care has been observed. A new feature of the 2001 Standard is for the laboratory supervisor to conduct a hazard analysis for the chemicals and processes employed in the fume cupboard.
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