LEV Testing · Durham
Durham's university laboratories and the county's engineering estates run LEV over processes that raise fume, mist and dust the law says must be controlled. We examine and test it to HSG258 and certify it.
Durham combines a research university with the working estates of the county around it. The laboratory fume cupboards and research extraction of the university, and the engineering, joinery and vehicle trades of estates like Belmont, all run local exhaust ventilation that has to capture what it raises - solvent vapour, fume, dust or mist - at source.
LEV falls out of tune unseen - filters load, ducts fur, fans tire - until a hood or cupboard no longer controls the exposure. We carry out thorough examination and testing to HSG258 across Durham: measured capture and face velocities at the working points, a verdict against the system's intended performance, and a label whose next-due date holds.
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.
In a university laboratory, the fume cupboards needed their thorough examination. We measured face velocity across each sash opening, checked containment and airflow, set out what to correct, and re-tested to confirm control before certifying.
An engineering unit on the Belmont estate needed its weld-fume arms testing. We measured capture at each arm and the transport velocity through the ducting, flagged a slow arm, and re-tested after the fix before certifying.
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 inspect the system's condition - hoods, ducting, filter and fan - and identify how it is meant to control each process.
We take the readings: capture and face velocities, duct transport velocity and static pressure at the key points.
We assess the readings against the benchmark and set out clearly whether the system is controlling the exposure.
The system is labelled with the test result and next-due date, and you get the report for your COSHH file.
At least every 14 months for most systems, more often for higher-risk work. We set the interval to the process and label it on the plant.
For fume cupboards, face velocity and containment; for extraction, capture and face velocities, transport velocity and static pressure - all against how the system should perform to control the exposure.
We set out exactly what failed - often one reading - so it can be put right, and re-test to confirm control before certifying.
Yes - fume cupboards, welding fume, dust and mist extraction and spray booths all fall under the same duty and the same clock.
Yes - the university laboratories and the engineering estates across Durham, and the wider County Durham.
The university's laboratories depend on fume cupboards and extraction that keep solvent vapour and research emissions out of the breathing zone, while the county estates weld, machine and work wood. We test both to HSG258 so each can prove its extraction controls what its people are exposed to.
We have carried out LEV thorough examination and testing to HSG258 since 2001, across County Durham 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 County Durham.
