Wood dust

How can exposure to wood dust be controlled? Is wood dust bad for You? What chemicals are in wood dust? How is wood dust carcinogenic?

Wood dust is created when machines or tools are used to cut or shape wood. High amounts of wood dust are produced in sawmills, and in the furniture-making, cabinet-making, and carpentry industries. How are people exposed to wood dust ? Individuals who use machinery or tools to cut or shape wood are exposed to wood dust.

Wood dust becomes a potential health problem when wood particles from processes such as sanding and cutting become airborne. Breathing these particles may cause allergic respiratory symptoms, mucosal and non-allergic respiratory symptoms, and cancer. The extent of these hazards and the associated wood types have not been clearly established.

Hard woods derive from the deciduous broad-leaved flowering species of trees, and soft woods include the coniferous species that do not shed their leaves in the winter. This simply means that it can irritate our skin, our eyes, and our lungs. Avoid inhaling wood dust or use a dust mask or other safeguards for personal protection. In general, exposure to excessive amounts is considered to have an irritant effect on eyes, nose and throat in addition to pulmonary function impairment and is considered a human carcinogen. Western red cedar dust has also been shown to cause asthma.

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They usually use 4″ dust collection hose, and will filter large chips and dust from a variety of woodworking machines. The beauty of a dust collector is that they are designed to create a lot of CFMs of suction, and unlike shop vacs which use a small internal filter, dust collectors use a giant bag (or a canister) and almost never lose any suction with continued use. Wood Dust and Lung Cancer Occupational Risk and Lung Cancer. Before addressing the specific risk of wood dust , however, the importance of.

Wood dust appears when the wood particles are released into the air during the cutting, pricking, drilling. In these cases, the wood dust particles. The most common hazards to the exposed skin are irritation and dermatitis. Once a 5-micron wood dust particle is stirred up, it will stay aloft for minutes or longer, depending on air movement. Dust particles of less than microns constitute the primary respiratory health risk to woodworkers.

Frequent exposure to wood dust can irritate the skin, eyes, and respiratory tract, leading to rashes, asthma, or loss of respiratory function (Health and Safety Executive). Of gravest concern is the strong and consistent association many studies have found between exposure to wood dust and cancer of the nasal cavity ( U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services ). May cause respiratory, skin and eye irritation.

In some manufacturing industries it can be a significant fire hazard and source of occupational dust exposure. Sawdust is the main component of particleboard. Research on wood dust health hazards comes within the field of occupational health science, and study of wood dust control comes within the field. Used for adding wood flavours to fragile food items, such as fish and vegetables, which does not necessarily require longer smoking hours or high amount of heat. OSHA has cited shops that fail to use specialized and expensive vacuum cleaners that don’t emit a spark to clean up wood dust , Scott says.

Minimizing the possibility of sparks is another key element in protecting against wood dust explosions, Scott says. All inhaled wood dust is hazardous to your long-term health. This chart simply lists specific woods that can aggravate symptoms through allergic reactions, or woods that are outright toxic in and of themselves. WARNING: Drilling, sawing, sanding or machining wood products can expose you to wood dust , a substance known to the State of California to cause cancer. The dust mask is moisture proof and resistant to dust, bacteria, wood grains, and fog.

The PonKing dus​t mask also comes with an extra filter for replacement, giving you extended wear of the mask. It is also NIOSH Napproved.