LEV Testing · Whitehaven
From the surfactant and detergent chemical works to the engineering and finishing units, Whitehaven workplaces raise fume, mist and dust that the law says must be controlled - and the control proven by a thorough examination and test.
Whitehaven made detergent chemicals above the town for generations, and a surfactant and detergent works among the estates sulphonates the feedstock, neutralises it and spray-dries the powder. Where a works sulphonates and spray-dries detergent the mist and dust are real - the sulphonation throws off an oleum and sulphur-trioxide mist that burns the airways, and the spray-drying tower and the powder handling a fine detergent dust - and the estates' engineering and finishing 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 sulphonation-mist extraction, the powder-tower and handling capture and the engineering 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 surfactant and detergent works on the Kells estate near Whitehaven, sulphonating feedstock and spray-drying powder, the extraction over the sulphonation plant, the spray-dry tower and the powder handling had lost capture and acid mist and detergent dust were carrying across the plant. We measured capture at the sulphonation plant, the tower discharge and the powder handling, 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 Hensingham estate near Whitehaven, 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.
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 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 Kells, Mirehouse and Hensingham estates and the town's units, and across Whitehaven and the wider Cumbria.
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.
Whitehaven makes surfactant and detergent chemicals on the Kells estate beside its engineering units, sulphonating feedstock, neutralising, spray-drying powder, welding and machining - raising sulphonation acid mist, detergent powder dust, 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 Cumbria 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 Cumbria.
