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wentilating.net www ww.heatingandventilating.net Exposur


Exposure to harmful dust


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harmful dust causes 12,000 lung disease related deaths a year


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Fans Clearing the air


Carl Webb, operations director at Andrews Sykes, discusses the growing prominence of industrial ventilation and the role it can play in maintaining a safe working environment


ith awareness around the importance of fume and dust extraction at an all-time high, the stringent health and safety regulations that exist across most


industries have never been more relevant or meticulously adhered to.


A study conducted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in 2017 uncovered that exposure to harmful dust causes 12,000 lung disease-related deaths a year – with a


significant number of those attributed to people working in the construction industry.


Managing and maintaining a safe working


environment is essential and often necessitates the use of dedicated ventilation equipment in order to achieve this.


The use of masks as a form of protection is seen as a last resort option, largely because wearing one does nothing in terms of removing the dust at source. In addition to an obvious degree of impracticability,masks restrict communication and can be uncomfortable to wear. A solution that controls the production of dust is therefore greatly preferable, or equipment that extracts it close to the point of formation. Grinding brick or stone will invariably create dust, which is extremely common on a building site or in an area that is being renovated. Many of these materials contain silica which, although not dangerous as a component of a finished product, poses a significant safety risk as a respirable silica dust. In fact, it is now universally accepted that silica is second only to asbestos as the construction industry’s most perilous health risk. That’s why, under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations, companies must assess each activity and ascertain the risks posed prior to work commencing. As such, the contractors behind the opening of a new M&S store in the East Midlands next summer had to take precautions to ensure conditions on site were suitable for engineers working there.


The 60,000ft2 building was previously a furniture outlet but is currently being refurbished both inside and outside. Existing electrics have been removed in addition to carpets, furnishings and some of the internal walls of the original structure.


Effectively, the client overseeing the project is stripping the whole interior back to its steel structure in order to modernise the building and convert it into a new M&S store.


Unsurprisingl


Unsurprisingly, the associated drilling, cutting, grinding and demolishing aspects of the revamp produced dusts which, as already touched upon, could have led to long-term implications for those in the vicinity had the issue not been addressed.


To tackle the problem effectively, the contractor approached sector specialist Andrews Ventilation and asked for a temporary solution that could provide large volumes of clean air while simultaneously removing toxins from the atmosphere.


With work being carried out over two levels, it was decided that the most efficient course of action would be to blow impure air from the ground floor upwards to the top storey and extract all contaminants at the same time.


This was achieved by deploying six ASF50 fanswithin the target areas on the bottom floor and using their significant airflows to direct dust and other particles upwards towards two high capacity ventilation fans located on the floor above. These units – FV1800 extraction fans – possess one of the most powerful air extractors available in the UK, making them suitable for the high-volume removal of dangerous fumes and dusts. Capable of generating flows of up to 38,000m³ per hour of operation the two FV1800 fans cation, th e two FV1800 fans combined perfec


ectl ctly with the smaller units below


to instil desirable and safe conditions within a busy and populated construction application.


It has been suggested by the senior contractor that a temporary ventilation arrangement will be required, in some form, until January 2020. This will mark the end of the preliminary phase of development, where the focus will switch from clean air circulation to an extensive heating requirement.


At this juncture, and assuming that everything is still on schedule, the client hopes to be completing the building’s interior which will include floor laying, plastering and painting.


To accelerate this process and ensure all work is completed ahead of a strict deadline, a high capacity oil fired heating unit will be used to support the drying of wet trades. This high capacity heating unit will be deployed outside the application and be connected to ductwork which will then direct large volumes of warm air to specific parts of the building that require drying assistance.


This development is an excellent example of contractors requiring two very different factions of HVAC to create an all-encompassing solution that will ultimately be required for several months.


Trusted Suppor rusted Jose De Almeida - Ge e De Almeida - Gener eneral Manager


d Support Partner tne  www.sav-systems.com


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