Laboratory Ventilation: Rethinking the Tradition
Ralph Stuart, CIH, Cornell University
Laboratory workers have traditionally focused on the fume hood as the primary ventilation control in the laboratory. The fume hood, however, is only part of the overall ventilation system that must be managed to control risks of airborne chemicals in the laboratory.
This presentation will provide an overview of the elements of the laboratory ventilation system, including hoods, chemical storage cabinets, and general ventilation. The speaker will discuss the wider universe of stakeholders in how the system is operated, including facility designers, operations staff and the campus community, which is interested in the carbon and dollar costs of laboratory ventilation. The speaker will review work conducted at Cornell to assess the effectiveness of ventilation in specific existing laboratories.
Ralph Stuart has more than 25 years of environmental health and safety experience at the University of Vermont (UVM) and is currently at Cornell University, where he is the laboratory ventilation specialist. Mr. Stuart is a certified industrial hygienist, with a bachelor's degree in engineering from Cornell University and a master's degree in environmental engineering at UVM. While at UVM, Mr. Stuart was directly involved in campus sustainability efforts, in both staff and faculty roles.