The project team plans to meet the intent of Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) Control through the use of "Smoking Cabins" and requests an exception to the technical requirements indicated to meet the intent. The smoking cabin is in full compliance with the requirements for ETS Control Systems GS-BGIA-M14 of BGIA (German Institute for Occupational safety and health), soon to be ground for the CEN European standard for Non-smoker protection. It has already been integrated in the law for non smoker protection of some European countries, like Austria. The BGIA tests control how a given cabin limits and eliminates tobacco related particles and gases. The smoking cabin is a small free-standing kind of smoking room, open or closed, where a high air flow ensures immediate capture of all tobacco smoke before it is dispersed in the cabin (contrary to a smoking room where all smoke spreads in the room before being ventilated). Immediate capture (vs ventilation) is a standard technology used in many other industries. The smoke is then purified through a combination of high standards particle filters and active coal gas filters, leaving no traces of tobacco specific particles or gases (cf GS-BGIA-M14). Cabins can be open or closed. The result is the disappearance of all tobacco specific particles and gases under detection level. The following guarantees to reach the intent of ETS Control, even though the technical approach is different: 1. Efficient capture of the smoke is guaranteed by very high air flow, (minimum of 200m3/h per smokers, and 3x times the volume of the cabin per minute), to ensure immediate capture of the smoke before it totally mixes with the air in the cabin. The capture efficiency and the no contamination of adjacent area is tested and proven by BGIA GS-BGIA-M14. 2. Recycling, elimination of particles: particles are removed through the use of absolute filters level HEPA14 -ULPA 15, purifying up to 99,9995% of the MPPS (Most Penetrating Particles - 0,1
The project is requesting an alternative compliance pathway for EQp2: ETS Control, by using indoor smoking cabins with in situ filtration. While air cleaning and dilution ventilation have been found to be helpful in improving visibility and reducing irritation in rooms with tobacco smoking, neither air cleaning nor dilution ventilation have been shown to provide acceptable indoor air quality from a health perspective (e.g. lung cancer, cardiovascular disease etc.). For these reasons, this approach does not meet the intent of the prerequisite and will not be accepted. Applicable Internationally; Germany.