LEV Testing · Whitstable
From the oyster and shellfish processing plant to the engineering and finishing units, Whitstable workplaces raise fume, mist and dust that the law says must be controlled - and the control proven by a thorough examination and test.
Whitstable grades and packs the shellfish of the flats, and a processing plant among the quays purifies, grades and cold-stores the oysters and cleans down in chemical. Where a plant runs its ammonia cold store and sanitises in chemical the gas and vapour are real - the refrigeration plant holds an ammonia charge that is acutely dangerous if it leaks, and the chlorine wash-down gives off a vapour - 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 and the ventilation that clears the gas 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 an oyster processing plant on the Whitstable quays, grading and cold-storing shellfish and sanitising in chemical, the extraction over the wash-down and the plant room had lost capture and chlorine vapour was building around the operators and the ammonia plant showed a leak risk. We measured capture at the wash-down and checked the plant room, checked the ducting and the fan, and found a fan below duty and a poor plant-room extract. We set out the remedial action, and re-tested to confirm the control before certifying.
At an engineering unit on the Estuary Road units near Whitstable, 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 Tankerton and Estuary Road units and the town's units, and across Whitstable and the wider Kent.
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.
Whitstable grades and cold-stores its oysters on the quays beside its engineering units, running ammonia refrigeration, sanitising in chemical, welding and machining - raising chlorine vapour, an ammonia risk, 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 Kent 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 Kent.
