BOHS LEV Awareness Course Launched

The British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS) has announced the launch of a Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) Awareness course, running from January 2009. This one-day course is aimed at buyers/owners of LEV systems (employers), facilities managers, works managers, health & safety managers, and union health & safety reps, where there is a definite need for a basic appreciation of LEV. 

The courses are being run across the UK, and full details can be found in the Education & Training section of the BOHS website: www.bohs.org/standardTemplate.aspx/Home/EducationTraining/BadgedCourses

Why LEV awareness?

Many employees are made ill every year as a result of exposure to hazardous dusts and fumes which have not been adequately controlled. LEV is - or should be - an important part of many exposure control strategies. 

The HSE has published new guidance on LEV (HSG258, 'Controlling airborne contaminants at work; a guide to local exhaust ventilation'), and HSE inspectors will be checking workplaces for appropriate and effective LEV systems. BOHS has been working closely with HSE in support of its LEV campaign. In recent years, we have developed two new qualifications for testers and designers of LEV systems (P601 and P602, respectively) and the new HSE guidance refers to both of these as one measure of competency in these areas.  The BOHS-badged LEV Awareness course will provide another link in the HSE campaign by helping employers and their managers to be aware of their duties.

And there is a definite need to raise awareness of LEV.  There are many reasons why LEV controls are inadequate, or missing completely - from a lack of understanding of the risk of exposure, through difficulties in working out what's causing exposure, to inappropriate design of systems. Of approximately 100,000 businesses in the UK using LEV to control risk, some 60,000 do not have it tested.  Which means that 60% are breaking the law, just by not testing!    
Much of the testing itself is ineffective. As a result, the numbers of workers at risk of exposure are too high, and many businesses will be vulnerable to HSE enforcement measures.

It is clear that there is a large market for a good quality LEV Awareness course aimed at those who are ultimately responsible for their employees' health. HSE inspectors will be promoting the need for awareness training as part of their advice out in the field.

The aims of the LEV Awareness course are threefold: to provide an appreciation of the importance of LEV as a control method; to clarify everybody’s roles and responsibilities concerning LEV, and to give an overview of the main elements of an LEV system and the required essential documentation.

Successful completion of the course should lead to a better understanding of your organisation’s statutory requirements, how near or far they are to being met, and provide information about what, if anything, to do next. 

The LEV Awareness courses are being run by independent course providers. BOHS has been involved throughout in the development of the course syllabuses, and the assessment and ultimate approval of course providers to run the courses under the BOHS badge. As BOHS is the leading and internationally recognised examination board for an existing wide range of qualifications in occupational hygiene – including in the design and testing of LEV systems  - the BOHS badge will, we hope, provide the quality assurance required by prospective course delegates.

BOHS’s ultimate objective is to ensure that awareness training in all aspects of occupational hygiene is of the highest possible standard. LEV has been selected as the first in what we hope will be a series of awareness courses because of the importance and currency of the issue. 

www.bohs.org