LEV Testing · Hatfield
Hatfield's aerospace-heritage Business Park and the university laboratories 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.
Hatfield made aircraft for half a century, and the old aerodrome now carries a business park and the University of Hertfordshire's engineering and science campuses. The laboratory fume cupboards and research extraction, the engineering units of the Business Park and the vehicle and fabrication trades all raise fume, mist or dust, and each leans on local exhaust ventilation that has to capture it at source.
An LEV system - or a fume cupboard - slides out of tune without a sign until it stops holding the exposure. We carry out thorough examination and testing to HSG258 across Hatfield: measured capture and face velocities at the working points, a judgement against how the system was meant to perform, and a label carrying a next-due date you can trust.
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 of Hertfordshire 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.
A Business Park engineering unit 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.
A thorough examination and test under COSHH is a real assessment, not a rubber stamp. It is a structured examination of the system's condition, measurement of its actual performance, and an assessment of those readings against how the system should perform to control the exposure. It follows the HSE's guidance, HSG258, and ends in a report and a label.
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 condition of the hoods, ducting, filter and fan and how each is meant to control its process.
We measure capture and face velocities, transport velocity and static pressure at every key point.
The readings are judged against the design benchmark under HSG258, with a clear pass or fail on control.
The plant is labelled and you get the report and next-due date for your COSHH records.
At least every 14 months for most systems, sooner for higher-risk work. We match the interval to the process and label the next-due date on the plant.
For fume cupboards, face velocity and containment; for extraction, capture and face velocities, transport velocity and static pressure - all weighed against how the system should perform to control the exposure.
We set out what failed and why, usually a single reading, so it can be corrected, then re-test to confirm control before certifying.
Yes - fume cupboards, weld fume, dust and mist extraction and spray booths all fall under the same duty.
Yes - the laboratories, engineering units and workshops across Hatfield, and the wider Hertfordshire.
The university laboratories and the Business Park units on the old aerodrome depend on fume cupboards and extraction that keep solvent vapour, fume and dust out of the breathing zone. We test both to HSG258 so each can prove its containment and extraction control what its people are exposed to.
We have carried out LEV thorough examination and testing to HSG258 since 2001, across Hertfordshire 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 Hertfordshire.
