Fume Hoods and Biosafety Cabinets: Understanding Their Roles

When it comes to laboratory safety, two pieces of equipment often come to mind as essential safeguards: fume hoods and biosafety cabinets.

Both are designed to protect lab personnel and the environment from hazardous substances, but they serve different purposes and function in unique ways.

Whether you're a researcher, lab manager, or safety officer, understanding the key differences and similarities between these two is essential for choosing the right equipment to maintain a safe and efficient lab environment.

So, what sets a fume hood apart from a biosafety cabinet? Let’s dive in.

• What are Fume Hoods?
• What are Biosafety Cabinets?
• Fume Hood and Biosafety Cabinet Design and Construction Differences
• Primary Purpose and Protection Offered by Fume Hoods and Biosafety Cabinets
• Fume Hood and Biosafety Cabinet Airflow and Filtration Systems Explained
• Safety Standards and Regulations
• Maintenance and Operational Costs
  
• Selecting the Right Medical Equipment for Your Lab
• Installation and Space Requirements for Fume Hoods and Biosafety Cabinets

What are Fume Hoods?

A fume hood is a ventilation device designed to limit exposure to hazardous chemical fumes, vapors, and dust. Think of it as a giant suction vent that pulls contaminated air away from the user and exhausts it safely outside the building or through a filtration system.

Types of Fume Hoods:

• Ducted Fume Hoods: Vent air directly outside through ductwork.
• Ductless Fume Hoods: Use filters to clean air before recirculating it inside.
• Variable Air Volume (VAV) Hoods: Adjust airflow based on sash position for energy efficiency.

Fume hoods are commonly used in chemistry labs where volatile chemicals or toxic gases are handled.

What are Biosafety Cabinets?

A biosafety cabinet (BSC), on the other hand, is a specialized enclosed workspace that protects the user, the product (such as biological samples), and the environment from contamination by infectious agents.

Types of Biosafety Cabinets:

• Class I: Protects the user and environment but not the product.
• Class II: Protects user, environment, and product (most common in microbiology labs).
• Class III: Offers the highest level of protection; completely sealed and used for highly hazardous agents.

Biosafety cabinets are primarily found in biomedical, pharmaceutical, and research labs working with biohazards.

Fume Hood and Biosafety Cabinet Design and Construction Differences

Fume hoods and biosafety cabinets look somewhat similar - glass front, enclosed sides - but their internal designs reveal key differences.

• Fume Hoods pull air in from the lab room and exhaust it outside or through filters, with airflow directed away from the user.
• Biosafety Cabinets use a combination of laminar (unidirectional) airflow and HEPA filtration to keep air inside the cabinet clean and prevent cross-contamination between the user, product, and environment.

BSCs often have more sophisticated airflow management with inward, downward, and exhaust flows, while fume hoods focus on removing harmful chemical

Primary Purpose and Protection Offered by Fume Hoods and Biosafety Cabinets

The main distinction between fume hoods and biosafety cabinets lies in what is protected:

• Fume Hoods primarily protect the user and the environment from hazardous chemicals or fumes. They do not protect the sample inside.
• Biosafety Cabinets protect the user, the environment, and critically, the product or specimen from contamination. This is essential for work involving delicate biological samples or pathogens.
  
  

Fume Hood and Biosafety Cabinet Airflow and Filtration Systems Explained

• Fume Hoods rely on airflow to pull contaminated air away, often venting it outside the building. The air may or may not be filtered, depending on the hood type.
• Biosafety Cabinets recirculate air through HEPA filters, which capture microscopic particles and pathogens. Incoming air is filtered to keep the work surface sterile, and exhaust air is filtered before release.

These different airflow systems explain why fume hoods cannot guarantee sterile conditions inside the workspace, whereas biosafety cabinets can.

Safety Standards and Regulations

While both pieces of equipment are stringently regulated, Each device is governed by different regulatory bodies and standards:

• Fume Hoods comply with OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and ANSI (American National Standards Institute) standards for chemical safety.
• Biosafety Cabinets adhere to CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), NIH (National Institutes of Health), and NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) guidelines focusing on biosafety levels.

Proper compliance is vital to ensure that these devices function safely and effectively.

Maintenance and Operational Costs

Fume hoods generally require routine inspection of airflow, sash condition, and duct cleanliness.

Biosafety cabinets need more intensive maintenance - regular HEPA filter replacements, decontamination, and certification by qualified technicians.

Because the maintenance is more intensive, biosafety cabinets can be more expensive to maintain over time.

Selecting the Right Medical Equipment for Your Lab

Choosing between a fume hood and a biosafety cabinet comes down to your lab’s specific hazards:

• Handling toxic chemicals? Go for a fume hood.
• Working with infectious agents or sterile samples? Biosafety cabinet is the way.

Budget, space, and maintenance capabilities also influence the decision.

Installation and Space Requirements for Fume Hoods and Biosafety Cabinets

Installation of both fume hoods and biosafety cabinets is a critical, multi-step process that prioritizes safety and proper function. Both require professional installation by qualified technicians, including electricians and HVAC specialists, to ensure they meet local codes and manufacturer specifications. Finally, an essential step for both is certification and testing to verify that airflow and containment performance are up to standard before the equipment is used.

While similar, installation requirements do differ:

• Fume hoods typically require ducting and significant ventilation infrastructure, affecting lab layout.
• Biosafety cabinets need electrical power and enough clearance for airflow but can be ducted or recirculating depending on model.

In summary

Both fume hoods and biosafety cabinets play important roles in lab safety, but they are not interchangeable. Fume hoods excel at protecting against chemical hazards by venting fumes outside, while biosafety cabinets uniquely protect personnel, the environment, and biological samples through HEPA-filtered airflow.

Choosing the right equipment depends on a lab’s specific risks, workload, and compliance needs. Understanding the differences ensures safer labs and better research outcomes.

Partner with CME Corp. for Fume Hoods and Biosafety Cabinets

With experience like the recent delivery and installation of 13 fume hoods of various sizes and weights for City of Hope in Duarte, Southern California, in-house design and CAD services to help optimize limited laboratory space, and CME employed, manufacturer trained delivery and installation teams, CME is the one-stop-shop for fume hoods and biosafety cabinets.

White-glove, Direct-to-Site delivery and installation and Biomedical services have been staples of CME’s turnkey logistics for over 45 years. And, the recent addition of design and CAD expertise to our end-to-end service portfolio makes us one of kind in the industry.

CME’s DTS teams ensure fume hoods and biosafety cabinets are delivered undamaged, assembled, and installed in the service location within the facility, on schedule and ready for use.

Our Biomedical Engineering Technicians (BMET) perform incoming inspections, electrical safety checks, and functional testing to ensure equipment is operating within OEM specifications.

Supplement your in-house team with CME’s technician team for asset validation and scheduled preventive maintenance for fume hoods and biosafety cabinets.

CHAT with a CME expert to start the conversation about fume hoods and biosafety cabinets for your laboratory or pharmacy.

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FAQs

What types of hazards require a fume hood versus a biosafety cabinet?
A: Fume hoods are designed for chemical hazards like fumes and vapors, while biosafety cabinets handle biological hazards like infectious agents.

Can a biosafety cabinet be used for chemical fumes?
A: Generally, no. Biosafety cabinets are not designed for chemical fumes and using them this way can damage filters and reduce effectiveness.

How often should fume hoods and biosafety cabinets be tested?
A: Both should undergo annual certification to ensure proper airflow and filter integrity, with routine daily checks by users.

Are there energy-efficient options for these devices?
A: Yes. Variable air volume (VAV) fume hoods adjust airflow to save energy, and some biosafety cabinets have improved fan and filter systems for efficiency.

What certifications should I look for when purchasing these units?
A: Look for ANSI/ASHRAE compliance for fume hoods and NSF/ANSI 49 certification for biosafety cabinets.

About CME: CME Corp is the nation’s premier source for healthcare equipment, turnkey logistics, and biomedical services, representing 2 million+ products from more than 2,000 manufacturers. With two corporate offices and 35+ service centers, our mission is to help healthcare facilities nationwide reduce the cost of the equipment they purchase, make their equipment specification, delivery, installation, and maintenance processes more efficient, and help them seamlessly launch, renovate and expand on schedule.