Fume hood

“ Asphalt fumes are considered a potential occupational carcinogen [4] . Benzene, hexane, and acetone are highly flammable. Prepare samples and standards in a well-ventilated hood and avoid skin contact. Use care when working with compressed gases.
PREPARATION OF FILTERS BEFORE SAMPLING:
NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods (NMAM) , Fourth Edition BENZENE-SOLUBLE & TOTAL PARTICULATE (ASPHALT FUME) : METHOD 5042, Issue 1, dated 15 January 1998 - Page 4 of 7
1. Number the backup pads with a ballpoint pen and place them, numbered side down, in the filter cassette bottom sections. 2. ”

“ In lead burning the heat from the blowpipe flame is sufficient, if kept long enough in contact with the lead sheet, to cause volatilization of the metal, and, as the worker’s face must necessarily be close to the flame, inhalation of fume is inevitable. Such work, however, has often, unfortunately, to be carried on in confined spaces where exhaust ventilation cannot be applied. ”

“ Rumours of Incendiarism are also very generally prevalent, and stories are in circulation of the finding of half-burnt matches and other combustibles. But these facts rest on very frail foundations. The links said to have been found in the Speaker’s garden have turned out to be nothing but German sausages; and another cock-and-a-bull that has got abroad will probably come to no better end. A Mr. Dudley affirms that he smelt the fire before it broke out, at Cooper’s Hill; but such olfactories are too much like manufactories to be believed. ”

“ The definition of efficient exhaust in some regulations for the removal of fumes, as in the Tinning Regulations, is that it shall not be deemed to be efficient unless it removes smoke generated at the point where [219] the fume originates. Accurate gauging, however, of the draught can only be done with an anemometer, so as to determine the number of linear and cubic feet passing through the throat per minute. Only rarely does one find an occupier alive to the value of the use of such an instrument. ”

“ In considering preventive measures against lead poisoning, precedence must be given to removal of fumes and dust by locally-applied exhaust ventilation, as, unfortunately, the wearing of a respirator is neither in itself a sufficient protection, nor, if it were, could the constant wearing of one be enforced. A respirator is of no use against lead fume. In the case of dust, the conditions which it must fulfil to be effective are, first, that the air breathed is freed from dust, and, secondly, that it should not incommode the wearer. ”

“ Also, the country house owner, who discovers that furnace or fireplace flues which have heretofore functioned properly are smoking, should investigate the circumstances without delay. The troublesome flue may only need cleaning, or a dislodged brick or other obstacle may have blocked it. Whatever the cause, the chimney should have immediate attention, for excess soot is the common cause of chimney fires. If an excess odor of coal gas indicates that the fumes are filling the cellar instead of going up the chimney, open the hatchway and as many windows as possible. ”

“ This is done by exhaust ventilation, locally applied, in the following manner: A suitable hood or air guide of metal or wood is arranged over the point where the dust is produced, leaving as small an opening as possible for necessary manipulations. The hood is connected with a duct through which the current of air travels. An exhaust current dependent upon heat will only suffice in the case of slight development of dust or fumes. As a rule exhaust by a fan is necessary. ”

“ As the fumes in lead smelting works contain a high proportion of lead, all apparatus, especially furnaces and working doors, should be provided with efficient exhaust ventilation and all flues, furnaces, and other apparatus be as airtight as possible. Where lead dust is created exhaust ventilation locally applied is necessary. Two of the most important preventive measures are personal cleanliness and alternation of employment. Dust arising in the furnaces and borne along by the furnace gases together with arsenical fumes and dust must be deposited in flues or chambers. ”

“ If the oil in the stampers’ forges is worse than usual the dense clouds of nauseating smoke hang over you like a pall so thickly that you cannot see your fellows a few paces away, making it intensely difficult to breathe and adding a horrible disgust to the unspeakable weariness. Then the bright flashing metal and the white gas-jets show a dull red. Even the sound seems deadened by the smoke and stench, but this is merely the action of the impurity upon the sense organs; they are so much impaired with the grossness of the atmosphere as to fail in their functions. ”

“ By such an arrangement, nearly the whole of the heat evolved in the combustion is applied to use; but it is contaminated with the smoke from the fuel. The savages of North America place fires in the middle of the floor of their huts, and sit around in the smoke, of which the excess escapes by the one opening in the hut that serves as a chimney, window, and door. A few of the peasantry in the remote parts of Ireland and Scotland still place their fires in the middle of their floors, and leave for the escape of the smoke only a small opening in the roof, often not directly over the fire. ”

“ Trouble with creosote and soot can be reduced when one understands how they are formed. Smoke and soot are caused by imperfect combustion, usually due to one or all of the following conditions: (1) Lack of sufficient air to the fire; (2) improper mixture of air with furnace gases; (3) low furnace temperature; (4) too small combustion space so that the gases reach the comparatively cool furnace surface before they are completely burned and, as a result, soot or tarry matter condenses and then passes up the chimney in the form of smoke. Soft coal causes more soot trouble than hard coal. ”

“ Investigate the cause of the trouble and you will find that the smoke pipe connecting the furnace and chimney is out of place. Don't try to replace the dislocated pipe until the cellar is thoroughly aired, for furnace fumes can be almost as deadly as those exhausted by an automobile, for the same reason, the presence of carbon monoxide gas. So when working on the pipe be careful to retreat out of doors on the slightest feeling of faintness or other disturbing symptom. The safest way is not to attempt to replace the smoke pipe until the furnace fire is out. ”

“ All manipulations should take place in tightly closed-in apparatus provided with exhaust, and the gases drawn off should be absorbed or effectively carried away. In the case of many injurious gases it is not sufficient merely to conduct them into the flue; they ought to be condensed and got rid of. Thus acid fumes (nitrous fumes, sulphur dioxide, hydrochloric acid vapour, chlorine gas) are neutralised by water or milk of lime, or a solution of soda; ammonia or alcohol by water; sulphuretted hydrogen and arseniuretted hydrogen by lime and oxide of iron; aniline, &c., by dilute acids. ”

“ The brass cover of the magazine, if not frequently cleaned, soon becomes coated with fine dust. Although lead fume may not be given off, it is none the less necessary to remove the products of combustion from the heating apparatus, in order to prevent constant vitiation of air and to reduce the temperature in the neighbourhood of the machines. Monotype machines give off much heat. Exhaust ventilation by hoods reaching well over the pots, and branch ducts entering the main duct in connection with a fan tangentially, can alone accomplish this satisfactorily. ”

“ It would conduce to the public health. The manufacturing towns of England are mostly pandemoniums of smoke or blast-furnace fumes. The winds of heaven cannot clear them away in one day—less than forty-eight hours of cessation of fire and fume would not render the air breathable. ”

“ If the sides of the hood be shallow, not only will the dust fail to be removed, but the hood itself may become so hot as noticeably to increase the discomfort from heat to which the men are exposed during the three or four minutes, five or six times an hour, that the dusting operation lasts. ”

“ Judith knew that flame must burst forth directly—directly the burning tobacco had charred through the rafters and flooring of the attic and allowed the fresh air from below to rush in and, acting as a bellows, blow the whole mass of glowing tobacco into flame. It was obvious that the fire had originated above in the attic. There was nothing burning in the room, and the smoke drove downward in strips through the joints of the boards overhead. ”

“ For a long time, in a mood which was too solemn for speech, we looked out at the tragic world. "There is a house on fire," said Challenger, at last, pointing to a column of smoke which rose above the trees.
There will, I expect, be many such—possibly whole cities in flames—when we consider how many folk may have dropped with lights in their hands. The fact of combustion is in itself enough to show that the proportion of oxygen in the atmosphere is normal, and that it is the ether which is at fault. ”

“ It was clear that if the smoke came out the air came in. This was disheartening. This combustion refused to be stifled.
"We resolved to try water, and took the hatches off. Enormous volumes of smoke, whitish, yellowish, thick, greasy, misty, choking, ascended as high as the trucks. All hands cleared out aft. Then the poisonous cloud blew away, and we went back to work in a smoke that was no thicker now than that of an ordinary factory chimney.
"We rigged the force pump, got the hose along, and by-and-by it burst. Well, it was as old as the ship—a prehistoric hose, and past repair. ”

“ The proper fire for pipes is one in a cheerful blaze. If your spill is carelessly constructed the flame runs up into your fingers before you know what you are doing, so that it is as well to marry and get your wife to make spills for you. Before you begin to smoke, scatter these about the fireplace. Then you will be able to reach them without rising. The irritating fire is the one that has burned low—when the coals are more than half cinders, and cling to each other in fear of death. With such a fire it is no use attempting to light a pipe all at once. ”

“ It is as barbarous to allow the fumes from gas to invade rooms, as it is to let the door be the sole outlet for peat-smoke in an Irish cabin, or as it was to provide only louvers in the roofs of the halls of our forefathers for the smoke of their wood-fires. ”

“ The burning of any substance occasions the same smell: for the gross fume which arises from them, before they flame, is the inflammable air they contain, which is expelled by heat, and then readily ignited. The smell of inflammable air is the very same, as far as I am able to perceive, from whatever substance of the same kingdom it be extracted. Thus it makes no difference whether it be got from iron, zinc, or tin, from any kind of wood, or, as was observed before, from any part of an animal. ”

“ When you see a thin blue fume rising from it, it is hot enough. That is the sign. If you do not look closely it may escape your notice, for it is only a thin fume you want, not a thick smoke. If we were to let the fat remain till it smoked it would be spoilt."
"Oh dear, how careful we have to be!" said Margaret.
"The slices of apple are quite ready, ma'am," said Mary.
"And the batter is quite ready," said Margaret.
"I see too, that cook has put a dish with kitchen paper on it for us to put the fritters on as they are fried. And there is the fume. Do you see it, children?" ”

“ Aitken has shown, moreover, in an interesting paper communicated to the Royal Society of Edinburgh, last year, that the fine dust resulting from the imperfect combustion of coal is mainly instrumental in the formation of fog; each particle of solid matter attracting to itself aqueous vapor; these globules of fog are rendered particularly tenacious and disagreeable by the presence of tar-vapor, another result of imperfect combustion of raw fuel, which might be turned to much better account at the dye-works. ”

“ Admiring, as I do, the bravery of our firemen, and hearing that smoke was a more serious enemy than flame itself, I thought of devising a fireman's respirator.
Our fire-escapes are each in charge of a single man, and it would be of obvious importance to place it in the power of each of those men to penetrate through the densest smoke, into the recesses of a house, and there to rescue those who would otherwise be suffocated or burnt. Cotton-wool, which so effectually arrested dust, was first tried ”

“ When the fire leaped Mint avenue in solid masses of flames the refinery men stuck to their windows as long as the glass remained in the frames. Seventy-five feet of an inch hose played a slender stream upon the blazing window sill, while the floor was awash with diluted sulphuric acid. Ankle deep in this soldiers and employes stuck to the floor until the windows shattered. With a roar, the tongues of fire licked greedily the inner walls. Blinding and suffocating smoke necessitated the abandonment of the hose and the fighters retreated to the floor below. ”

“ A fire of coals is lighted and kept burning incessantly in the drying-house, and the smoke passes through shelves on which the chestnuts are laid, in stages, and escapes by the loopholes. To any one unaccustomed to the atmosphere in these séchoirs, it is hard to endure the smoke, and one stands the risk of being asphyxiated. Nevertheless the peasants spend two months in the year in these habitations, amidst cobwebs and soot, swarming with mice and rats, and the smoke at once acrid and moist, for in drying the chestnuts exude a greenish fluid that falls in a rain from the shelves. ”