Impact Air Systems (our sister company) was called in to London’s largest undercover Material Recycling Facility (MRF) to improve the quality of the final product by removing the light fibre and debris from the material stream in order to boost its resale value. Although the majority of waste being handled was mixed papers, Impact also had to consider other waste such as dry foods, plastics and glass.
Having already designed and installed the heavy duty material and dust extraction and separation system at the 9.2 acre site, Impact Technical Services were the natural choice to maintain and service the equipment. The MRF management also hoped that Impact could improve and maintain existing extraction equipment too.
Following a site visit by Tony Bosworth, Operations Director of Impact Technical Services, it became obvious that there were many solutions we could offer, both technical and mechanical. As dust was being controlled, it was quickly established that COSHH Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) Thorough Examination & Testing (TExT) must be carried out as per statutory requirement COSHH regulation 9.
Following a survey of the MRF, other areas were identified where LEV systems were present and therefore addressed. As part of the MRF’s pro-active approach to health and safety, Impact were asked to put forward further recommendations for the extraction systems and also the ventilation systems serving the Sort Cabins. This has resulted in a sensible yet stringent examination and testing programme being put in place. This includes gravimetric air quality testing which ensures that the quality and cleanliness of air being breathed in by the employees is well below that laid out by the HSE in its publication EH40/2005 Workplace Exposure Limits.
The result is that the employees are happy working in comfortable and safe areas and the MRF is legally compliant and more than meeting its health and safety responsibilities and the demands of ISO14001 and HSG258.
Impact Technical Services continue to offer a wide range of services to many MRFs and recycling companies throughout the UK. The services we offer include extraction system service and maintenance, LEV examination and testing, personal and background air quality sampling, noise surveys, vibration analysis and fan balancing.
Comtact us today for a free site assessment – Call 0116 2448855 or email [email protected].