ANSI/AIHA Z9 Accredited Standards Committee 

Health and Safety Standards for Ventilation Systems

The purpose of AIHA ASC Z9 "Health and Safety Standards for Ventilation Systems" is to maintain and update existing standards in the Z9 series, establish new standards as necessary, and resolve issues concerning those standards.

The scope of the ASC Z9 encompasses standards for the design, operation and maintenance of equipment to provide a safe atmosphere in industrial, manufacturing or construction operations by removing harmful substances by either local exhaust or general ventilation and safely disposing of such substances, and such supplementary standards on personal protection as may be necessary to prescribe methods for the protection of workers.

The committee chair is Thomas C. Smith and Vice Chair is Theodore J. Knutson, PE.

Z9 Information (all documents in  format)

Updates on Z9 Subcommittees and Standards

  • ANSI/AIHA Z9.1-2006 Open-Surface Tanks – Ventilation and Operation: Revised Standard has been approved by ANSI and is available for sale through AIHA. Chair John Sheehy. This standard establishes minimum control requirements and ventilation system design criteria for controlling and removing air contaminants to protect the health of personnel engaged in open-surface tank operations. It is not intended to cover fire protection. 
  • ANSI/AIHA Z9.2-2007 - Fundamentals Governing the Design and Operation of Local Exhaust Systems: Chair: Jeff Burton: This Standard establishes minimum requirements for the commissioning, design, specification, construction, and installation of fixed industrial local exhaust ventilation (LEV) systems used for the reduction and prevention of employee exposure to harmful airborne substances in the industrial environment. 
  • ANSI/AIHA Z9.3-2007 Spray Finishing Operations - Safety Code for Design, Construction, and Ventilation: Chair: Geoff Raifsnider. This standard is intended to help manufacturers and users protect the health of personnel from injurious effects of contact with gases, vapors, mists, dusts, powders, or solvents used in, or created, released or disseminated during or by spray finishing operations. 
  • ANSI/AIHA Z9.4-2011 Abrasive-Blasting Operations – Ventilation and Safe Practices for Fixed Location Enclosures: Chair: Kathleen Paulson. This standard shall apply to all operations in fixed location abrasive-blast enclosures in which an abrasive forcibly comes in contact with a surface by pneumatic or hydraulic pressure or by centrifugal force.  It shall not apply to steam blasting, steam cleaning, or hydraulic cleaning methods in which work is done without the aid of abrasives.  It also shall not apply to abrasive blasting conducted outdoors (e.g., bridges, water towers) even though temporary enclosures may be built at such locations.  This standard has been administratively withdrawn by ANSI. The subcommittee has submitted it as a new Standard to ANSI. Subcommittee is currently working on updating the draft.
  • ANSI/AIHA Z9.5-2011 Laboratory Ventilation: Chair: Steven Crooks. This standard sets forth the requirements for the design and operation of laboratory ventilation systems. Revision of the standard is almost complete. The subcommittee is working to address public review comments and expects to have the revised standard published in July 2011.
  • ANSI/AIHA Z9.6-2008 Exhaust Systems for Grinding, Buffing and Polishing: Chair: Mark Rollins. The rules and engineering principles described in this standard represent the minimum criteria intended to protect the health of personnel engaged in and working in the vicinity of grinding, polishing, and buffing operations; and to control contaminants generated by those operations.
  • ANSI/AIHA Z9.7-2007 Recirculation of Air from Industrial Process Exhaust Systems: Chair: Lou DiBerardinis. This standard established minimum criteria for the design and operation of a re-circulating industrial process exhaust ventilation system used for contaminant control. The Z9.7 Subcommittee is currently being reformed to begin work on revising the 2007 Standard.  
  • ANSI/AIHA Z9.9-2010 Portable Ventilation Systems: Chair: Neil McManus. This new standard discusses portable ventilation equipment and systems used for the reduction, control or prevention of exposure to hazardous atmospheres or airborne substances in the occupational environment, and for provision of comfort to employees.
  • ANSI/AIHA Z9.10-2010 Fundamentals Governing the Design and Operation of Dilution Ventilation Systems in Industrial Occupancies: Chair Jeff Burton. This Standard establishes minimum requirements for the commissioning, design, specification, construction, installation, management, operation, maintenance and testing of dilution ventilation systems (including demand dilution ventilation) used for the reduction, prevention and control of employee exposure to harmful airborne substances in the industrial environment. A revised standard will be published in December 2010.
  • ANSI/AIHA Z9.11 2008 Laboratory Decommissioning Standard: Co-chairs: Lou DiBerardinis and Farhad Mezmaradeh. This standard provides an overarching roadmap for the decommissioning process of biological research laboratories that can assist an institution in developing its own Decommissioning Plan.  
  • BSR/AIHA Z9.12 Design, Operation, and Maintenance of Combustible Dust Collection Systems: Chair: Lee Hathon, Vice Chair: Theodore Knutson. This standard applies to dust control systems with combustible solids that are a fire, deflagration, explosion or detonation hazard. The Z9.12 Subcommittee membership has been finalized and work on the draft standard has begun.
  • BSR/AIHA Z9.13 Design, Operation, Testing, and Maintenance of Laminar Flow Fume Hoods: Chair: Tom Smith. This standard applies to laminar flow fume hoods (LFFH) that use filtered supply air and ducted exhaust to protect products inside the hood from external contamination and exhaust hazardous effluents from the building.  This standard provides guidelines for design, operation, testing and maintenance of laminar flow fume hoods.
  • BSR/AIHA Z9.14 Testing and Performance Verification Methodologies for Biological Safety Level 3 (BSL-3) Laboratories: Chair: Farhad Memarzadeh; Vice Chair: Louis DiBerardinis. The scope of Z9.14 will be development of a performance standard for the design, operation, and maintenance of equipment to provide a safe atmosphere in BSL-3 laboratory operations by removing harmful substances by either local exhaust or general ventilation and by safely disposing of such substances; and such supplementary standards on personal protection as may be necessary to prescribe methods for the protection of workers. 


All Z9 standards on Health and Safety for Industrial Ventilation Systems can be purchased in the AIHA Marketplace. If you would like to participate or want more information please email AIHA Standards

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