LEV Testing · Lowestoft
From the frozen-food processing plant to the engineering and finishing units, Lowestoft workplaces raise fume, mist and dust that the law says must be controlled - and the control proven by a thorough examination and test.
Lowestoft freezes the nation's fish and food, and a processing plant among it runs a fryer line, a freezing plant and a wash-down regime around the clock. Where a plant runs ammonia refrigeration and cleans down in chemical the hazards are real - an ammonia leak off the plant is acutely dangerous, and the CIP and sanitising chemistry give off a fume at the wash - and the estate's engineering and finishing units add weld fume, oil mist and grinding dust, all things a worker should not breathe.
Local exhaust ventilation and the ventilation that clears it are what protect the workers, and the law does not take the control on trust. Under COSHH the sanitation-chemical capture and the process extraction have to be thoroughly examined and tested at least every 14 months, measured against how they are 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 a frozen-food processing plant on the South Lowestoft estate, running its fryer line and chemical wash-down, the extraction over the fryer and the CIP and sanitising stations had lost capture and cook fume and sanitising-chemical vapour were hanging over the floor. We measured capture at the fryer and the wash stations, checked the ducting and the filter, 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 South Lowestoft estate, 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 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 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 South Lowestoft industrial estate and the town's units, and across Lowestoft and the wider Suffolk.
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.
Lowestoft freezes fish and food on the South Lowestoft estate beside its engineering units, running fryer lines, chemical wash-downs, welding and machining - raising cook fume, sanitising-chemical vapour, weld fume and oil 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 Suffolk 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 Suffolk.
