The challenge of finding fact-based truth

There has been a great deal of debate these days between how people qualify ‘facts’ and, what someone ‘has heard,’ also known as hearsay. This disparity exists in every industry, culture, profession, and as we bear witness to daily, even in the media. It begs the question: How can anyone know the truth?

We can’t speak for all of the pervasive nonfactual news and disinformation currently circulating on every platform of communication, but we can address a topic that for over 50 years has occupied the top R&D scientist in the lab air filtration industry. These dedicated individuals are employed by Erlab, Inc, and, quite rightly so, take it personally when people doubt the facts behind their life’s work. We are also willing to give the laboratory community they serve, the benefit of the doubt, as they may have read something online or in published materials that they ‘supposed’ to be the facts. This trusting of unverified sources seems to have been adopted as a way to cope with information overload. We all do it.

Getting proven data based solutions

One thing scientists, chemists, and lab technicians will agree on is that the success of their work relies on factual, tried and tested data. Which, by a strange coincidence, is the same process employed by the scientist at Erlab since 1968. This company is the inventor of the ductless fume hood, and the industry leader with over 150,000 ductless fume hoods installed in the US and globally. This tells us they are a thought leader and a trusted source for verifiable data in their profession.

To get answers to some of the most common misinformation in their industry we asked the safety and air filtration experts at Erlab, what objections they face on a daily basis? They refer to it as the ‘myths and the reality’ scenario as they attempt to dispel the misconceptions associated with ductless fume hoods.

Myth #1

The filtered air is returned to the lab space and there are no guarantees that the filtration system will adequately remove the chemical contaminants.

Reality:

Erlab performs rigorous testing of their media and their filters. All testing performed is in adherence to the 15-211 standard, which ensures that the air exhausted is free from chemicals emissions. Erlab’s PhD chemists perform analysis for each customer’s specific chemical handling’s.

A detailed report is then given to the customer stating the filter retention capacity, life cycle of the filter, and means of relevant chemical detection to measure the filters efficiency.

Myth #2

Some of the filters for ductless fume hoods cost a lot and must be disposed of as hazardous waste, which can become expensive.

Reality:

Disposal of the filters falls within the normal PPE process (gloves and glasses). Because of the nature of adsorption and the process we use to improve the reaction between the media and the pollutants, the molecular adhesion is also improved.

Release of any molecule during routine disposal will not occur and is proven with TCLP reports on used filters. Hazardous waste disposal is not necessary.

Myth #3

Determining which filter to use in the hood is often difficult because it is dependent upon chemical use.

Reality:

Erlab’s eValiQuest, a web-based platform, makes this determination simple. The customer is guided through their process and chemical handlings, and is provided real-time data for the appropriate filters and configurations pertaining to their specific application. Erlab’s PhD chemists then perform an analysis to meet client needs and a detailed report is presented with the following results:

• Selection of the appropriate filter type for your chemicals
• Proper configuration of the filtration column for the chemicals used in your hood
• Filter retention capacity
• Proper means of breakthrough detection

About Erlab

Inventor of the ductless laboratory fume hood and worldwide leader since 1968, Erlab’s passion is to focus on the research and development, design, and manufacturing of cutting-edge toxic gas air filtration in the laboratory. As an industry innovator, Erlab is committed to safety, performance, energy efficiency, and sustainability, and has remained number one in the world for ductless fume hoods.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Linda Video- See what changed Linda’s mind

Safe Alternatives to Ducted Fume Hoods (Webinar Extract)

A history of excellence and growth

Perfumer’s Apprentice was started in 2004, by Linda Andrews, to help perfumers of all skills and experience levels learn about and use professional fragrance components. Their offerings include pure and natural essential oils, absolutes, and isolates. They also offer fragrance oils, aroma chemicals and specialty blends from fragrance houses such as Givaudan, Firmenich, IFF, Robertet and others. As an added service they also offer classes and educational kits to aid customers in the creative process.

They expanded their business in 2009 and created The Flavor Apprentice, where they create unique, mouth-watering flavors for culinary professionals and enthusiasts. They offer choices from over 300 professional flavor concentrates that can be used in a wide variety of flavoring applications. They carry a broad range of products and sizes for anything from experimenting with new recipes to meeting bulk needs.

Customers of Perfumer’s Apprentice include fragrance enthusiasts, independent perfumers, and small to mid-sized brands who are competing in the beauty market. With an eye on the future they are constantly improving and expanding their flavors and fragrance ingredients with the mission to continue to offer premium products to their customers.

Challenges in the flavor and fragrance industry

Companies operating in the Flavor and Fragrance industry space have major concerns when it comes to providing a safe, clean, fume free work environment for their staff. Air filtration is also of paramount importance to those businesses working with volatile chemicals. Additionally, since many are developing new specialty fragrance blends in-house, it is important to eliminate as many odors from the space as possible to avoid skewing the results of the creative testing processes.

The Perfumer’s Apprentice was searching for a solution to upgrade their lab equipment and provide a safer and cleaner work environment for their staff. The biggest challenge in finding the right company and equipment was who to ask. ”Finding a company that was specialized in the Flavor & Fragrance industry was a huge determining factor.

Most companies don’t even know what our industry does, let alone the specificity of our materials. We found Erlab understood our needs and industry very well and assisted us in our search with their experience and knowledge providing much welcomed direction.” T. McIntosh, PA Fragrance Operations Manager

Finding a trusted partner

Acknowledging a better way to protect staff, increase productivity, and enhance their customer’s experience was a big step in the right direction for Perfumer’s Apprentice. The criteria for purchasing the equipment to assist them in these goals was based on their determination to purchase high quality equipment, that was environmentally friendly, cost effective, and had easy access to customer support services. They had done their due diligence in seeking vendor quotes but were disappointed that the companies queried attempted to oversell without answering questions, accessing their unique situation or assisting with budget concerns.

Making goals a reality

Perfumer’s Apprentice goals have been realized through the purchase of two Halo Lab Air Filtration Systems and one Captair Smart ductless fume hood from Erlab. When asked if the company was satisfied with their purchases Travis McIntosh, PA, Fragrance Operations Manager in Scotts Valley, CA said: “Absolutely, and we are likely to make additional purchases. We are planning on a new work surface for the inside of the Captair hood, which should help us with using gram scales during formulations. Additionally, we are considering some of Erlab’s filtering storage cabinets for our more offensive and invasive volatiles.” Travis went on to express that Erlab’s safety experts fulfilled their promise of on-time delivery, installation and training with easy to follow operating instructions. Customer support going beyond expectations however was something he hadn’t expected. “Their support is better than I would have anticipated, and their staff is so friendly and down to earth. That was something I did not expect but very much appreciated.”

About Erlab

As the inventor of the ductless laboratory fume hood and worldwide leader since 1968, Erlab’s passion is to focus on the research and development, design, and manufacturing of cutting-edge toxic gas air filtration in the laboratory. As an industry innovator, Erlab is committed to safety, performance, energy efficiency, and sustainability, and has remained number one in the world for ductless fume hoods.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Innovation in Lab Energy, Efficiency, and Environmental Sustainability

Agricultural Crops Application Products

The challenges that lie ahead of us

As the world faces challenges never before seen due to the current global pandemic caused by COVID-19, we all have concerns with what life is going to look like moving forward. But, before we start looking too far into the future, we have to deal with the current situation and the lack of testing capabilities. The current backlog of tests keeps growing and results typically take 3-7 days to receive. There simply has to be more throughput and facilities capable of receiving and safely processing a high volume of samples. So, how can genomic centers, clinical labs and healthcare facilities transition from manual low volume sample throughput (2,000 samples, per day) to high throughput testing facilities which can run 10,000 – 20,000 samples, per day?

Getting the facility prepared to handle potential contagious specimens

First, the facility’s directors will have to start drawing out plans to adjust airflow and perhaps even build temporary walls to segregate all Covid-19 testing from other areas of the lab and create cleanroom space. Along with the conversion of lab space, the CDC recommends that the laboratory should be a BSL2 facility ­­at a minimum, which needs to be taken into consideration during re-design.

Secondly, the facility needs to consider equipment such as Bio Safety Cabinets (BSC’s) for sample preparation, where the sample goes through a process called Lysis, which is the breaking down of the cell membrane and aids in the separation of proteins.

After the Lysis process, the sample is added into a Lysate buffer solution, which helps release soluble proteins. Once in the buffer, the samples no longer have to be handled within a BSC. They are transferred into well plates and then can be transported to a high throughput liquid handling machine to proceed with the process of RNA extraction. All liquid handlers should however be placed in a (containment ventilation enclosure) CVE to protect from potential splashes and any possible aerosolization of the sample.

How to choose the right CVE for your application

First, safety should never be overlooked and therefore the CVE should not only provide protection from spills, but they should also be equipped with H14 HEPA filters to capture any potentially aerosolized pathogens. In addition to having a primary HEPA filter, the CVE, or fume hood, should also have the ability to integrate an added level of H14 HEPA filtration for safety redundancy. To further increase the level of safety, the ability to also add carbon filtration should be available in order to adsorb all the emissions, which may be generated from the solutions used during the extraction process (e.g., chloroform, phenol, and ammonium).

Simplicity by Design

As the leader in products designed with simplicity in mind, Erlab’s Captair SMART Express CVEs require absolutely zero construction and are set-up-in quickly with in-house personnel. This is possible due to the unique design, allowing all hoods (CVE’s) to be shipped erlab-technician-replacing-filter-in-fume-hood (Completely Knocked Down) CKD and set-up within minutes of delivery. While simple by design, all hoods maintain the most important factor – safety. All hoods meet ASHRAE 110, AFNOR NFX, and ANSI Z9.5 standards, ensuring containment and filtration efficiency.

To learn more about Erlab products and services related to this industry visit our website today. For immediate assistance contact an Erlab Safety Expert. Call 844-300-8191 or email, captairsales@erlab.com.

About Erlab

Inventor of the ductless laboratory fume hood and worldwide leader since 1968, Erlab’s passion is to focus on the research and development, design, and manufacturing of cutting-edge toxic gas air filtration in the laboratory. As an industry innovator, Erlab is committed to safety, performance, energy efficiency, and sustainability, and has remained number one in the world for ductless fume hoods.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Safe Alternatives to Ducted Fume Hoods (Webinar)

Seeing Is Believing – Demo of Captair Smart Ductless Filtering fume hood (Video)

From USP <797> to USP <800>

In 2004 many compounding pharmacies were challenged with how they were going to comply to USP <797> standards. Challenges such as; how were they going to design Cleanrooms into an area that more often than not, wasn’t conducive to a typical classroom setting and just as importantly, how were they going to implement the changes in their procedures of handling sterile drugs. The standards upgrade was designed to protect patients from microbial contamination, excessive bacterial endotoxins, and errors in the strength of correct ingredients. Fast forward to 2016 when USP <800> was published and implemented in December of 2019. Pharmacies once again face the challenges of how to outfit what is now their 797 compliant labs, with additional safety equipment that will add advanced protection for the pharmacy technicians. There are two separate compounding methods Sterile and Non-Sterile.

For each handling type, a containment primary engineering control, needs to be in place, which is a ventilated device designed to minimize the worker and environment from Hazardous Drug (HD) exposure. In addition to the containment primary engineering controls (C-PEC), there must be a containment secondary engineering control (C-SEC) which is the room in which the C-PEC’s are placed.

Sterile and non-sterile compounding – choosing the right C-PEC

First, it is important to know that all C-PEC’s which are used for STERILE Compounding, must be externally vented, which also provides an ISO 5 environment within the enclosure, ensuring product and user protection. The most commonly used BSC is a Class IIA2 which provides 70% recirculated air and 30% exhausted air. However, there are other acceptable types, such as the B1, and B2. Secondly, the room that the C-SEC is in must be an ISO 7 Cleanroom with 30 Air changes per hour (ACPH) and maintain positive pressure.

Any non-sterile compounding, must be performed within class I BSC, or a containment ventilated enclosure (CVE), which is BSC Classifications either externally vented, or has redundant HEPA filters, in series.

With non-sterile compounding there are also some changes in the requirements of the C-SEC, such as the reduction of ACPH down from 30 to 12 and the change of a positive pressure room, to a negative pressure room, as the critical environment does not need to be ISO classified. However, though, not a sterile environment, 797 standards should still be followed.

Uncompromised safety

As the experts in air filtration for the protection of laboratory personal, Erlab’s Captair SMART CVE’s are designed to allow for redundant filtration in series for either HEPA, or Carbon, or a combination of both. This design ensures safety during a number of different handling applications, which includes powders, API’s, HD’s, and liquid chemicals. As part of our 5 Steps to Safety process, we go through multiple stages of validation of your handling process to ensure your safety is never compromised.

About Erlab

As the inventor of the ductless laboratory fume hood and worldwide leader since 1968, Erlab’s passion is to focus on the research and development, design, and manufacturing of cutting-edge toxic gas air filtration in the laboratory. As an industry innovator, Erlab is committed to safety, performance, energy efficiency, and sustainability, and has remained number one in the world for ductless fume hoods.

The Hazards

Additive Manufacturing is a marvel of the modern world. Within hours, possibly even minutes, you can hold a pre-production version of a part to be used in a new design. Additive manufacturing technology, also called Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), significantly compresses the product development life-cycle and lowers the cost burden of exploring new ideas and designs. All of this is good, great in fact, but brings with it some new concerns for safety.

Depending upon the type of filament used for printing (e.g. PLA, ABS, Nylon, etc.), hazardous vapors, fumes and particles can be emitted in dangerous concentrations. Ultrafine Particles (UFP) present risks that are associated with lung damage and translocation to the bloodstream (NIH). Harmful Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are emitted in varying degrees and are highly dependent upon the filament material being used. Frequent exposure to UFPs and VOCs is now associated with adverse health effects on the human body.

Image credit: P. Azimi, D. Zhao, C. Pouzet, N. E. Crain and B. Stephens, “Emissions of Ultrafine Particles and Volatile Organic Compounds from Commercially Available Desktop Three-Dimensional Printers with Multiple Filaments,” Environmental Science and Technology, vol. 50, no. 3, pp. 1260-1268, 2016

3D printing applications will also include post-processing methods to obtain the desired look and feel for your prototype. Cleaning, smoothing, welding, and surface finishing are all part of this process, and will require the use of chemicals (e.g. Dichloromethane, Ethyl Acetate, IPA, Acetone, THF). Such substances also pose a health hazard to the operator, which need to be addressed with safety measures.

As with most source generation, the further away you are the less concentration you’ll be exposed to and therefore the safer you should be. However in many cases, the 3D printer is needed close by to the workstation or occupied areas. Therefore, most 3D printers should be housed in a protective enclosure, or equipped with an exhaust system, that will capture and remove the airborne hazards from the air you breathe.

Safely Adding 3D Printers to Your Space

Reference: https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2019/04/09/am/

As our awareness of this emerging hazard increases, new test protocols and standards such as UL2904 are being developed and adopted by 3D Printer manufacturers. Additionally, customers are implementing their own safety protocols based upon best practices and discussions with their peers. For example, Cornell University’s EH&S Department has developed a 3D Printer Media Review on line, listing all the hazards of each type of media (aka filament) used. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s EH&S website lists the hazards on line also with excellent source material references.

Eliminate Hazards First to Reduce Risks

The Hierarchy of Controls teaches us that elimination is the first step to reducing a risk. Since 3D printers are here to stay, we then must move to Substitution, the second step. Some filaments are less hazardous so substituting a lower temperature or otherwise safer filament is certainly worth investigating. But all filaments/media will emit some amount of vapors, nuisance odors and/or ultrafine particles. Distance and ventilation may be successfully used in large rooms, or areas with segregated ventilation, but in most cases capture and containment at the source is the safest path forward and this requires an engineering control, the third step in the hierarchy.  Ductless filtering fume hoods are an engineering control that have been used for over 50 years.

A ductless filtering fume hood system, also known as a Containment Ventilated Enclosure (CVE), is a cost effective alternative to ducted exhaust systems which require make-up air to be brought into the room.

Ductless filtering fume hoods system can be equipped with both HEPA (particulate) and carbon (chemical) filtration, thus providing total protection to the 3D Additive Printer users.

This configuration allows the 3D Printer users to change filament materials and not be concerned about increasing the risk of exposure.

Simplicity by Design

With products designed with simplicity in mind, Erlab’s Captair SMART CVEs require absolutely zero construction and are set-up in just minutes. This is possible due to our unique design, allowing all hoods (CVE’s) to be shipped Completely Knocked Down (CKD) and re-assembled within minutes of delivery. While simple by design, all hoods maintain the most important factor – safety. All hoods meet ASHRAE 110, AFNOR NFX, and ANSI Z9.5 standards, ensuring containment and filtration efficiency.

Additional Resources:

A veteran safety expert shares the secrets of fume hood safety in the lab (Article)

Safe Alternatives to Ducted Fume Hoods (Webinar)

Seeing Is Believing – Demo of Captair Smart Ductless Filtering fume hood (Video)

The Scope

To offer students enhanced curriculum, the 4-story addition to Hemenway Hall at Framingham State University includes (8) Organic, Inorganic, Analytical, Biochemical, and Physical Chemistry teaching laboratories utilizing a total of (49) filtered fume hoods. The addition is LEED Silver certified. The project received an Honor Award from the Boston Society of Architects / Massachusetts Architectural Access Board, for the significant improvements to the existing buildings and surrounding landscape that have resulted in full, universal access.

The Challenge

The large and expensive mechanical systems required to support a 100% ducted hood design contributed to the project going over budget. State funding for this STEM initiative had already been set and finding a solution to reducing construction costs was necessary, while not sacrificing safety or functionality.

Incorporating Green Solution Hoods from Air Master Systems, featuring Erlab’s GreenFumeHood Filtration Technology, into the design provides a safe working environment for the students, minimizes the HVAC systems, offers significant energy savings for the school, and helps to achieve LEED Silver certification.

The chemistry involved is easily handled by GreenFumeHood Filtration Technology. The combinations of acids, bases and solvents used by the students will be fully adsorbed by the Neutrodine filters and last greater than 2 years as proven at other installations with similar chemical usage. The architect designed a mix of mostly filtered and some ducted fume hoods which reduced the mechanical systems size by 25%, lowering their costs by over $917,000 and providing a net savings of over $330,000 on the project. With this savings, it was possible to complete the entire 6th floor and avoid having unusable shell space.

The Benefits

About Erlab

Our Challenge

In 2015 there was a study on the global burden of disease which analyzed the link between pollution and disease. The findings were staggering, showing results that ambient exposure to PM 2.5 was the fifth ranking mortality risk factor, causing ~ 4.2 million deaths. PM 2.5 are tiny particles in the air that reduce visibility and cause the air to look hazy when levels are elevated. From this data we know that the impact on our health from the air we breathe is significant, and in fact can be fatal. If we take a deeper dive into the data, the challenges we face due to pollution are far greater than anyone could imagine.

Fast forward to 2020 and the challenges we are facing with the global pandemic. As studies continue to prove, air pollution has a significant effect on the severity of cases, and worse, the mortality rate. We face a new challenge that should have been dealt with long before the pandemic, but is just now being acknowledged, and that is generalized air pollution. How are we going to create a safe environment for our kids to return to school, our buildings to be occupied and our lives to return to some resemblance of normalcy? What are the options available and are they effective, or do they just provide us with a false sense of security? This is no longer just about a virus, we are fighting against a global pandemic of pollution.

Focusing on SARS-CoV-2.

The CDC says Covid-19 is mostly spread by respiratory droplets released when people talk, cough, or sneeze. You’re already working hard to keep your surfaces free from contaminants and maintaining social distancing guidelines. However, that may be insufficient. Without a mitigation plan to capture the aerosolized small droplet nuclei current measures are unequivocally, not enough. The challenge is that the smaller droplets (particles) ranging from 10 microns to 0.125 microns, are not affected by gravity right away and drawn to the surface like the larger particles. These smaller particles remain suspended and stay in the breathing zone for up-to 1 hour, which increases the risk of airborne contamination.

Proper ventilation plays a crucial role in maintaining a healthy environment. You need to ensure your ventilation systems are operating properly, which includes correct Air Exchange Rate (ACH), MERV 13 or higher filters, clean to dirty directional air flow patterns, room balancing, fresh air dampers, and relative humidity control. Sound complicated? It is, and extremely expensive. In addition to cost, the time it will take for these upgrades, or installation to occur is significant. Time we don’t have.

Capturing and Containing Air Borne Viruses

Air purifiers can capture viruses in the air, helping to reduce the concentration in the room and reducing the potential for exposure. They also assist in keeping potentially contaminated air within one room, as opposed to operating off the premise of dilution followed by recirculation (see infographic). The majority of buildings have a centralized system, which means polluted air is distributed throughout the building before getting diluted, or filtered. This means that one contaminated persons nuclei could spread to many different area’s, which presents a serious risk to other occupants within the building.

The Solution

­Capturing the aerosolized contaminants as close to the source is the key to ensuring the mitigation risk of any aerosolized contamination. With laboratory grade H14 HEPA, or molecular filtration and proper directional air flow patterns, this can be accomplished. With complete freedom from the building’s HVAC, your cost is reduced, installation is expedited and re-entrainment of contamination throughout the HVAC system is also mitigated.

Though we are all focused on the current pandemic, we must also look at the bigger picture of pollution and the impact this has on our overall health and unfortunately, the inevitability of another virus we must be prepared for. Reducing our exposure to PM 2.5 is a critical factor in not being susceptible to such viruses, but we also have to account for the cumulative exposure to the Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s) we are all exposed to everyday. These play a key role in our overall health and susceptibility to viruses today and in the future.

No longer should dilution be the solution. In fact, with this mindset, we are poisoning ourselves. Capturing and containing at the source of the problem is the best solution. By far, filtration is the best way to mitigate our risk in the building and outside the building, so we can all breathe safely!

About Erlab

As the Inventor of the ductless laboratory fume hood and worldwide leader since 1968, Erlab’s goal is to focus on the research/development, design, and manufacturing of cutting-edge toxic gas air filtration for your laboratory. Erlab has experience solving challenges just like yours.

Additional Resources

epa.gov/coronavirus/will-air-cleaner-or-air-purifier-help-protect-me-and-my-family-covid-19

theintercept.com/2020/06/26/coronavirus-toxic-chemicals-pfas-bpa