With a high incidence of workplace risk from respiratory sensitising dusts from grains, flour, egg protein, fish protein and ingredient additives, containment technology specialist Hosokawa Micron has responded to industry demands for improved and safe levels of personnel and product protection by developing a range of modular downflow booths.
Capable of delivering operator exposure levels (OEL) of <1µg/m3, the booths also provide product protection from surrounding area contamination by creating a ‘clean processing zone’ to minimise cross contamination risk from other products or processes.
Their cost-effective yet flexible modular design makes them suitable for a range of applications when it is necessary to undertake processing steps outside a closed food processing machine, such as sampling, filling or packing operations. They have low running costs, attributed in part to the incorporation of effective and energy efficient motors and fans.
The booths are designed to deliver a quick and cost-effective route to contained processing and operator protection – without the need for restrictive PPE equipment. They deliver a unidirectional flow of air forced downward through ceiling mounted distribution screens in a vertical, laminar flow. This suppresses the elevation of dust, taking the dust away from the operator’s breathing zone and into the booth’s low level perforated extraction grilles.
Thanks to the high density attenuating insulation and the quiet running of the motors and fans the modular booths are designed for quiet running of almost 60dBa – less than a normal conversation. This makes them ideal for applications within ‘quiet zones’ or within multi-processing areas where acoustic interference would be a problem and when ‘silent running’ is preferable.
