Mortuary & Autopsy

Effective Ventilation of Formaldehyde Fumes

Formaldehyde, xylene and hot paraffin wax fumes are chemicals used within mortuaries as a method of preserving and embalming the body. Toxic chemicals such as these pose a serious health risk to mortuary staff who  face long term exposure. Having the correct fume extraction systems and equipment in place is vital to protect the health and safety of staff and visitors. There are many reports of the toxic effects of exposure to these chemicals but very little documentation on the importance of efficient fume extraction systems for their removal.

Accurate Fan Selection for Downdraught Equipment Maintenance

While Axair cannot supply or specify the set up of downdraught ventilation systems, we can work with contractors, installers and system designers to ensure the industrial fan is suitable to achieve the required airflow, pressure and system performance required for the room specifications. This includes ensuring an accurate fan size is chosen to avoid higher level gases and toxins being present around personnel.

An example of an inaccurate fan selection of ventilation system was discussed by Centres For Disease Control and Prevention in which a downdraught table that had been modified to have a 800 cubic foot/minute exhaust flow rate exhausted up to 50% of the rooms air supply. The slot exhaust at the head of the work bench exhausted the remainder. To detect gas removal the tracer gas sulfur-hexafluoride was released at key points along the table. At table height and up to 10cm above the table no gas was detected and downward velocities of 725 and 1,000 feet/minute (ft/min) were recorded. When released at nose level height, gas was detected and downward velocity was 60 to 90ft/min. From this it was concluded that by modifying the downdraught bench it would further reduce the exposure to formaldehyde to 0.3ppm. The modification options would be to increase fan size or place an additional ventilation system directly above the table.

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