Method for reducing
exposure to vapors and / or dusts from equipment (1) for vacuum-based
coating processes, wherein an operating vacuum is generated in the equipment (1), wherein the equipment (1) has a first, second and third
vacuum chamber (2, 2', 2"), wherein the vacuum chambers (2, 2', 2") are connected in series, wherein the second
vacuum chamber (2') is arranged between the first and third vacuum chambers (2, 2") and is designed as a process chamber, wherein - in a first process step of the apparatus (1) a gas is supplied, wherein - in a second process step the gas is removed from the second
vacuum chamber (2'), whereby - in a third process step, the gas removed from the second vacuum chamber (2') is purified and made available again for feeding into the first and third vacuum chambers (2, 2"), wherein the first process step, the second process step and the third process step are carried out cyclically one after the other, characterized in that at least one rotary
lobe pump (7) is used for the first and second process steps, which removes the gas from the second vacuum chamber (2') and supplies it to the first and third vacuum chambers (2, 2").