Fume cupboard

A pair of fume cupboards

A fume cupboard is an important piece of safety equipment which is used when dealing with poisonous or harmful gases and fumes. They should be tested every fourteen months to ensure that they are working properly.

You may be using a portable fume cupboard. These have filters in the roof which absorb any harmful materials. A built in fume cupboard usually vents all the waste materials outside the building where they are heavily diluted by the air. It may seem obvious, but the fume cupboard needs to be switched on in order to provide protection. Also avoid having the windows too far open, as the efficiency of the extraction may be too poor.

There are a number of unpleasant materials which you may be using or producing during your course. These include the vapours from a number of organic chemicals, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, and ammonia.