Industrial hygiene (IH) exposure monitoring results for major Preventative Maintenance chamber clean tasks for the 38th IEEE photovoltaic specialists conference

An industrial hygiene (IH) air monitoring study was conducted at HelioVolt´s manufacturing facility to evaluate any potential chemical hazards employees are exposed to during a major Preventative Maintenance (PM) task. The materials in the chambers are Copper, Indium, Gallium, Selenium, and Sodium Fluoride. HelioVolt currently monitors Selenium on a routine basis. An independent study by Zephyr Environmental Corporation was initiated by the addition of Sodium Fluoride to the process, as its MSDS indicates that Hydrogen Fluoride (HF) is a possible byproduct. IH samples were collected and analyzed for gaseous Fluoride, particulate Fluoride, and Hydrogen Selenide. The air monitoring results indicated, for this specific PM task, the potential employee exposure was well below the Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) or not detected.