Breathing air quality testing ensures the safety of your employees
Breathing Air Quality Testing services from AEP will ensure your business is operating in line with its legal requirements. This will help to ensure the safety of your employees in accordance with UK legislation and standards.
Why is Breathing Air Quality Testing important for your business? If relevant to your business, as an employer you are legally obligated to carry out breathing air quality tests. The safety of your employees should be of paramount importance to your business with EN12021:2014 setting out the parameters you must adhere to.
How often should you test the air at your facility? In the first instance, an assessment should be completed to thoroughly identify all areas of risk within your business operations. Using this as a guide, air samples should be taken and then analysed to track levels of any contaminants.
The testing process should take place at 3-month intervals in accordance with EN12021:2014 and HSE guideline document Respiratory Equipment at Work (HSG53).
Click to view a copy of our Breathing Air Results Form
...
If you have adjusted your operations and potentially impacted your breathing air, interim analysis should be carried out. If at any stage you are concerned, AEP testing engineers are on hand to assist you.
How are these guidelines applied to a hire or mobile compressor?
- AEP will complete a breathing-air test as part of the process installation of the mobile or hire compressor
- COSHH advises on the control of substances hazardous to health, what the law requires and best practice for completing assessments
- AEP will take all current legislation and standards into consideration as part of the testing process for mobile or temporary installation
...
Your legal obligations for the testing of breathing air
As detailed in the national foreword of BS EN 12021:2014, this is both a British and European standard. For the UK, it specifies the following key aspects:
AEP analysis is in accordance with BS EN 12021:2014 and National Annex including the testing methods previously specified in BS8478.
We can ensure the consistency in the application of the standard and analysis of the gases and any contaminants.
- Compressed gas for breathing shall not contain contaminants at a concentration which can cause toxic or harmful effects
- All contaminants shall be kept to as low a level as possible
(For contaminants not listed in this standard).
- The level should not be greater than one tenth of the relevant time (8h) weighted average Workplace Exposure Limit (WEL)
- The UK National WEL for substances hazardous to health are published by the Health and Safety Executive. They can be found in the publication Workplace Exposure Limits (EH40)
