Home > Regional Coverage > South West
Armstrong Environmental provides independent Local Exhaust Ventilation testing throughout the South West from our Taunton office.
We support organisations across Somerset, Bristol, Gloucestershire, Devon, Dorset and Cornwall, including major construction projects, regulated manufacturing sites, engineering facilities, laboratories and healthcare environments.
Our work ranges from individual extraction systems and biological safety cabinets to coordinated testing programmes across complex sites containing substantial numbers of engineering controls.
Local Exhaust Ventilation can range from extraction hoods used for welding, cutting, grinding and fabrication to integrated production systems, fume cupboards and biological safety cabinets.
Whatever its form, the control must capture or contain hazardous substances effectively during the real process. Changes to equipment, materials, work methods, temporary arrangements or system configuration can all affect performance.
Regulation 9 of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations requires employers to maintain control measures in an efficient state, in efficient working order, in good repair and in a clean condition.
The COSHH Approved Code of Practice and guidance, known as COSHH L5, supports these duties. HSE guidance HSG258 explains good practice for the commissioning, examination, testing and management of Local Exhaust Ventilation.
Most LEV systems require thorough examination and testing at least once every 14 months. Some specified processes require shorter intervals, and the risk or operating conditions may justify more frequent checks.
A competent LEV TExT considers the process, the way the control is used and the complete system, including its hood or enclosure, ductwork, air cleaner, fan and discharge.
Testing may include visual examination, smoke visualisation, airflow and pressure measurements, assessment of capture or containment and comparison with commissioning data or another suitable performance benchmark.
The report should reach a clear conclusion, explain defects and their significance, and provide prioritised actions. Biological safety cabinets are specialist LEV systems and require additional validation against BS EN 12469.
The South West combines major nuclear construction and energy projects with aerospace and defence manufacturing, pharmaceutical production, specialist engineering, food manufacture and significant healthcare and research activity.
These environments can involve welding fume, metalworking mist, dust, solvent vapour, pharmaceutical powders, biological aerosols and other substances requiring reliable engineering control under COSHH.
Armstrong Environmental has experience supporting organisations across:
We understand the need to coordinate testing around production, permits, security, containment, contractor interfaces and site access while maintaining a consistent and defensible technical standard.
Major projects and complex sites can include permanent and temporary extraction serving fabrication areas, workshops, production equipment, laboratories and specialist containment systems.
As equipment moves, contractors change and processes develop, duty holders need accurate asset information and a coordinated approach to testing rather than a series of unrelated reports.
Armstrong Environmental can support asset verification, planned testing schedules, review of commissioning or benchmark information, consistent reporting and prioritisation of significant or recurring defects.
LEV Tracker® gives duty holders clearer oversight of systems, reports, examination dates and outstanding actions across departments, contractors, buildings or sites.
LEV measurements provide evidence about engineering performance, but they do not always establish what an employee may inhale during a representative task or working shift.
Exposure may vary during welding, grinding, powder handling, cleaning, maintenance, intervention work or other activities where emissions and operator position change throughout the task.
Armstrong Environmental can design workplace exposure assessments using personal exposure monitoring, static air sampling and task observation to investigate exposure and the effectiveness of existing controls.
Results can be considered against relevant Workplace Exposure Limits in EH40 or suitable substance-specific criteria, including occupational exposure limits used for active pharmaceutical ingredients. Meeting a limit does not replace the wider COSHH duty to prevent or adequately control exposure.
Combining exposure evidence with LEV expertise helps identify whether improvement is required in hood design, positioning, process enclosure, work methods, housekeeping or other control measures.
Clients choose Armstrong Environmental because we provide:
Our LEV testing is led by BOHS-registered LEV Specialists listed on the BOHS Register of Occupational Hygiene Professionals, which is accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
