Improving Facility Safety With PSP Fume Exhaust Duct
When it comes to industrial facility processes, there's no question that specific safety protocols can help mitigate the risks and hazards that are inherent in these environments. But workplace safety can, and should, extend beyond prudent practices to include fully engineered solutions that are part of the process facility equipment and infrastructure.
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One such product is PermaShield (PSP®) process vent duct, a hybrid coated stainless steel fume exhaust duct system designed specifically for the purpose of safely handling corrosive and/or hazardous process exhaust. This technology was originally developed in the 1990’s as a custom solution for an IBM chip manufacturer to both appease their insurance carriers and implement a durable system that can reliably handle the hazardous and corrosive fumes that are generated in the semiconductor manufacturing environment.
Soon after its introduction, PSP fume exhaust duct became the standard for quality and safety as an engineered solution in the semiconductor industry. Among its many advantages, PSP not only safely conveys hazardous and flammable process exhaust, but it does not melt and will not contribute to flame-spread, or generate large quantities of smoke in the event of a facility fire.
On the need for innovative fire safety measures in the semiconductor industry, Vincent Degiorgio, Industry Leader for Semiconductor & High Technology at FM Global, wrote:
"In the past, cleanrooms and wet benches often needed to be protected by sprinklers or more expensive special fire-protection systems like carbon dioxide, fine-water spray or halon. But, by the time a cleanroom fire propagated and triggered a sprinkler or special fire protection system, damage could already have occurred in the rest of the cleanroom. Due to such factors… chip makers are requiring suppliers to use materials in wet-bench fabrication that are less flammable and therefore don't need additional - and costly - fire protection systems installed, so they will be inherently safe when they arrive in the cleanroom."
To that end, building codes and insurance companies increasingly require duct made of stainless steel or other non-combustible substrates. In some instances, fiberglass or other combustible duct materials may be used, but these require the use of internal sprinklers, protective resins, and can command higher insurance premiums.
PSP is FM 4922 approved for use as a fume exhaust product without internal fire suppression systems. FM approval uses scientific research and testing to make sure products conform to the highest standards of safety and property loss prevention. According to ASTM E-84 tests, PSP is certified by a “0” flame spread rating and a smoke generation index of less than “20”. This means that PSP does not burn and will not generate meaningful smoke in the event of a facility fire.
Given its track record of safety and widespread adoption in the semiconductor market, PSP has since grown into a superior product for process fume exhaust in wastewater, university/government laboratories, metal finishing, energy and other industrial facilities with highly demanding applications.
Click here to learn more about PSP coated stainless steel fume exhaust duct for your facility
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