Health and Safety Survey on Portable Fume Extractors

Conservators frequently rely on filter-based particle and fume extractors to remove or reduce airborne contaminants in their work spaces.  Health and safety professionals often warn about the hazards of using these extractors and even discourage their use for a variety of reasons. However, the Health & Safety Committee recognizes that they may be the only options for conservators working in temporary work sites, studios that are situated inside homes or rented spaces, rooms without windows, or where the building structure cannot be altered. Therefore, the Committee is currently working on a guide to help conservators research, purchase, and safely use portable extractors based on experiences of both conservators and health and safety professionals.

If you have purchased a fume and/or particle extractor, we’d like your feedback on how you rate your particular model and your experiences using an extractor in general. The purpose of the resulting guide is not necessarily to recommend any specific model, but to identify particular features and concerns that will assist conservators in purchasing the correct product for their work and how to use extractors properly.

To contribute to the guide, please complete the following survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5GWBS6P