Christian Columbres
Bonnie J. Ford Center Health, Nursing, and Science Center
Umpqua Community College
In many buildings, the exhaust and ventilation systems are the unsung heroes of the engineering design. For the Bonnie J. Ford Health, Nursing and Science Center, they are front and center, keeping students and faculty safe.
Administrators at Umpqua Community College sought to give their nursing students opportunities to train on equipment and simulate situations they will encounter on the job. The new Bonnie J. Ford Center will provide invaluable training for those students. Each lab where experiments involving noxious chemicals are performed is equipped with one or more fume hoods. Each fume hood is connected to a central lab exhaust system that constantly exhausts air from fume hoods and lab classrooms. The lab controls ensure optimal air quality at all times. Acid-resistant lab tables feature fixtures for natural gas, lab vacuum, lab air, and industrial cold water via a backflow-protected valve to keep out contamination by chemicals and compounds students may be working with. Interface Engineering also designed the disposal system for acids that includes a step to neutralize the wastes before disposal.