COSHH, law & TExT
Local exhaust ventilation carries dust, fume, vapour and mist away at source - and the law says you have to prove it still works.
The short answer
Local exhaust ventilation (LEV) is the extraction that captures airborne contaminants - dust, fume, vapour, gas or mist - at the point they are produced, before anyone breathes them in. LEV testing, properly called a thorough examination and test (TExT), is the formal inspection that confirms the system still does that job. Under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 it is not optional: if you rely on LEV to control exposure, it has to be examined and tested.
The detail
COSHH Regulation 9 requires that any engineering control provided under Regulation 7 is kept in an efficient state, in efficient working order, in good repair and in a clean condition - and, for LEV, thoroughly examined and tested at least once every 14 months. That interval is a legal maximum, not a target; higher-risk processes listed in COSHH Schedule 4 must be tested far more often.
The reason is simple and serious. When extraction quietly underperforms, workers keep being exposed to substances that cause occupational asthma, lung disease and cancer - and nobody notices until the harm is done. The test is how you catch a failing system before it fails a person, and how you show an inspector, an insurer or a court that your control was real rather than assumed.
What it means for you
A TExT is not a glance at a fan. A competent examiner works through the whole system - hoods, ducting, any filter or air cleaner, the fan and the discharge - checking condition and measuring airflow against the system's design and commissioning figures. HSG258, the HSE's guide, sets the benchmarks that performance is judged against.
You come away with a written report: what was measured, a pass or fail, any remedial actions, and the date the next test is due. That report, plus your logbook of weekly checks, is the evidence of compliance - and in practice an inspector asks to see it before they look at the plant itself.
The service behind the guide
Our LEV testing follows HSG258 to the letter and reports back in plain language - what passed, what needs attention and when you are next due - so a workshop manager can act on it without decoding a spreadsheet.
Questions
Yes. Under COSHH Regulation 9, if you use local exhaust ventilation to control exposure to a hazardous substance, it must be thoroughly examined and tested by a competent person - at least once every 14 months for most systems, and more often for certain higher-risk processes.
Local exhaust ventilation: engineering controls such as hoods, ducting, filters and fans that capture dust, fume, vapour, gas or mist at source and carry it away before it can be inhaled.
At least every 14 months for most systems. Processes named in COSHH Schedule 4 need testing more frequently, and HSG258 expects a shorter interval where wear and tear or higher risk would let performance drift between tests.
They are the same thing. TExT stands for thorough examination and test - the formal name in HSG258 and COSHH for what is commonly called LEV testing.
A competent person able to make an objective assessment, either an external contractor or a suitably trained in-house employee. The BOHS P601 qualification is the competence marker most widely used in industry.
Phoenix Duct Clean · by the numbers
We test all makes and types of local exhaust ventilation to COSHH Regulation 9 and HSG258, and give you a clear report with your next due date. Call or email for a quote.