Committees responsible for this British Standard

The preparation of this British standard was entrusted to Technical Committee LBI/18, Laboratory furniture and fittings, upon which the following bodies were represented:

Association for science Education

BLWA Ltd. — The Association of the Laboratory Supply Industry

British Educational Suppliers' Association

British Furniture Manufacturers' Federation

British Occupational Hygiene Society

Chartered Society of Designers

Chemical Industries Association

CLEAPSS — School Science Service

Department for Education and Employment

Furniture Industry Research Association

Health and safety Executive

Institution of Mechanical Engineers

Manufacturing Science Finance

Medical Research Council

Research and Development Facilities Consortium

Royal Institute of British Architects

Royal society of Chemistry

United Kingdom Fume Cupboard Association

Universities Safety Association

This British Standard, having been prepared under the direction of the sector Committee for Materials and Chemicals, was published under the direction of the standards Committee and comes into effect on 15 July 2001

The following BSI references relate to the work on this British standard:

Committee reference LBI/18 Draft for comment 00/120749 DC

Foreword

This British Standard has been prepared under the direction of the Sector Committee for Materials and Chemicals (I/-) by Technical Committee LBI/18, Laboratory furniture and fittings. It has been prepared in response to calls from industry for a standard for fume cupboards of the filtration type, which are not covered by BS 7258. It was intended originally that this work should be undertaken as part of the European (CEN) programme of work on fume cupboard standards, but this proved unfeasible in the short term.

The structure of BS 7258 has been used to some extent in this British Standard and, where possible, identical requirements have been specified. However, this British standard should be considered as essentially separate and distinct from BS 7258. Attention is also drawn to Building Bulletin 88 [1], issued by the Department for Education and Employment in 1998.

Whenever a fume cupboard is used, it is necessary for the purchaser and/or user to assess the hazards associated with the materials to be manipulated, to ensure that the fume cupboard is satisfactory for its intended purpose and that current exposure limits for toxic substances are not exceeded.

Annex A and Annex B are informative. Annex C and Annex D are normative.

This British Standard calls for the use of substances and/or procedures that may be injurious to health if adequate precautions are not taken. It refers only to technical suitability and does not absolve the user from legal obligations relating to health at any stage.

A British Standard does not purport to include all the necessary provisions of a contract. Users of British Standards are responsible for their correct application.

Compliance with a British Standard does not of itself confer immunity from legal obligations.

Summary of pages

This document comprises a front cover, an inside front cover, pages i and ii, pages 1 to 20, an inside back cover and a back cover.

The BSI copyright notice displayed in this document indicates when the document was last issued.

Introduction

The purpose of a recirculatory filtration fume cupboard is to contain a pollutant or pollutants released from a source or sources within the fume cupboard and, by a filtering device, to reduce substantially the concentration of specified pollutants prior to recirculating the air back to the room.

These devices should only be used with pollutants of documented hazard, which permits the selection of appropriate filter(s).

NOTE several of the tests described in this British Standard require the use of hazardous substances. Appropriate risk assessment should be made and suitable precautions taken at all times.

1 Scope

This British Standard specifies requirements for fume cupboards designed to recirculate air back to the room after filtering out specified pollutants. This British Standard does not specify requirements for fume cupboards of the type dealt with in BS 7258.

This British Standard is not applicable to recirculatory filtration fume cupboards of the following types:

recirculatory filtration fume cupboards for work on radioactive materials;
recirculatory filtration fume cupboards for work on microbiological agents;
high thermal load recirculatory filtration fume cupboards;
recirculatory filtration fume cupboards employing wet scrubbing systems.

This British Standard is not intended to apply to small enclosures intended only for applications such as weighing, in which the filter retention capacity is likely to be small.

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

4 Safety

4.1 General

4.2 Electrical

4.3 Mechanical

4.4 Specific

4.5 Assessment of potential hazard before use (see also clause 11)

5 Materials of construction

6 Services

6.1 General

6.2 Electrical outlets

6.3 Lighting

6.4 Coupling of gas, water, electrical and drain connections

7 Filtration systems

7.1 Pre-filter

7.2 Particulate filter

7.3 Gas and vapour phase filters

8 Type test procedures

8.1 General

8.2 Airflow type test

8.3 Containment type test

8.4 Particulate filter and seal integrity type test

8.5 Capacity type test for installed gaseous phase filter

8.6 Type test report

8.7 Type test certification

9 Efficiency testing for installed gaseous phase filter

10 Marking

10.1

10.2

10.3

11 Commissioning

12 Information to be supplied with the fume cupboard

Bibliography

BS 7989:2001

Specification for recirculatory filtration fume cupboards

Published:

15 Jul 2001

Withdrawn:

11 Nov 2025