LEV Testing · Cramlington
From the active-ingredient synthesis plant to the engineering and finishing units, Cramlington workplaces raise fume, mist and dust that the law says must be controlled - and the control proven by a thorough examination and test.
Cramlington's Nelson and Windmill estates make medicines at scale, and an active-ingredient plant among them synthesises pharmaceutical compound in solvent reactors and dries it off. Where a plant reacts in solvent and charges and discharges reactors the vapour is real - the process solvent hangs at every charge point and sample port, and the drying and milling of the active add an airborne dust - and the estates' engineering units add weld fume, oil mist and grinding dust, all things a worker should not breathe.
Local exhaust ventilation is what captures it at source, and the law does not take the control on trust. Under COSHH the extraction has to be thoroughly examined and tested at least every 14 months, measured against how it is used - not just switched on and assumed to work.
CNC and manual machining raises oil mist and metal dust at the enclosure and bench that has to be captured at source.
Flour, powders and steam need capture at the mixing and process points, from bakeries to production kitchens.
Saws, sanders and routers throw fine wood dust that has to be drawn off at the tool and the bench.
Weld fume and grinding dust need capture at the arm and booth, wherever steel is fabricated.
Bodyshop spray booths and prep bays carry paint mist and solvent vapour that the extraction has to hold and clear.
Fume cupboards, safety cabinets and dental and salon extraction all count as LEV and all fall due on the same clock.
Real jobs, described by sector and area - never by a client's name.
At an active-ingredient plant on the Windmill estate near Cramlington, synthesising compound in solvent reactors, the extraction over the charge points, sample ports and the drying line had lost capture and process-solvent vapour and active dust were escaping into the plant. We measured capture at each charge point and the dryer, checked the ducting and the scrubber, and found a fan below duty dragging the run. We set out the remedial action, and re-tested to confirm the control before certifying.
At an engineering unit on the Nelson estate near Cramlington, the weld-fume arms and mist extraction over the machining had lost capture and the shop was hazing by mid-shift. We measured capture and face velocities at each point, checked the ducting and the filters, and reported what needed putting right so it held its spec on a re-test.
Condition of hoods, ducting, filters and fan - the damage, blockage and wear that quietly drops performance.
Measured capture and face velocities at the working points, plus transport velocity and static pressure through the system.
The readings assessed against how the LEV should perform to actually control the exposure - not just whether the fan turns.
Where the process warrants it, sampling to confirm the control is keeping the substance out of the breathing zone.
The point of a thorough examination and test is to prove the extraction still controls the exposure - so we measure it, we do not eyeball it. Condition, capture and face velocities, transport velocity and static pressure are checked against the design intent under HSG258, and the result is written up and labelled on the plant.
We test to the HSE's guidance, HSG258, and the job ends in a report and a label on the plant: what was measured, what passed, what needs putting right, and the date the next test falls due.
We examine the hoods, ducting, filter and fan and identify how each is meant to control its process.
We record capture and face velocities, transport velocity and static pressure at every key point.
The readings are assessed against the design intent under HSG258, with a clear verdict on control.
The plant is labelled with the result and next-due date, and you get the report for the COSHH file.
At least every 14 months under COSHH Regulation 9 - and sooner for certain higher-risk processes. We set the right interval for what you run and put the next-due date on the label and the report.
A thorough-examination-and-test report against HSG258, a pass/fail on each point with any remedials listed, and a dated label on the plant showing when the next test falls due.
We set out exactly what failed and why - often a single reading such as static pressure or capture velocity - so it can be put right, and we re-test to confirm the control before certifying.
Yes - the the Nelson and Windmill estates and the town's units, and across Cramlington and the wider Northumberland.
No - any LEV: welding fume arms, wood and grain dust systems, spray booths, mist extraction, fume cupboards, and dental and salon extraction all fall under the same duty and the same clock.
Cramlington makes active pharmaceutical ingredients on the Nelson and Windmill estates beside its engineering units, reacting in solvent, drying, welding and machining - raising process-solvent vapour, active dust, weld fume and mist. Every one carries a duty to control what its work throws off - and to prove it with a measured test.
We have carried out LEV thorough examination and testing to HSG258 since 2001, across Northumberland and the UK. From a machine shop to a joinery, a spray booth or a lab fume cupboard, the job ends the same way: measured readings, a clear verdict, and a label whose next-due date you can rely on.
Tell us what you run and we will examine, measure, report and label it to HSG258 - across Northumberland.
