The basic design principles and proper operation of your chemical fume hood.

Fume hoods are installed in laboratories to protect workers from hazardous vapors generated by laboratory experiments. However, simply conducting these experiments in the fume hood does not guarantee adequate protection.

Since exhaust hoods are among the major expense items for research laboratories and have a huge impact on continuing operational costs, we’ve decided to provide you with information on some of the newer hood designs that offer good performance and energy conservation.

Fume hoods are important and critical pieces of equipment in many labs, and a competent certification company can align the operator, the laboratory environment and the hood itself to improve effective hood use.

February picks for innovative new product introductions made to fit under your hood.

The purpose of a fume hood is to contain contaminants and prevent their escape into the laboratory. This is accomplished by drawing contaminates within the hood’s work area away from the user, so that inhalation and contact are minimized.

In the Product Focus on Fume Hoods in the July/August 2008 issue of Lab Manager, three industry experts shared some ideas on what you should know before purchasing a fume hood and how to get the most out of one.