Dust Characteristics and Venting
Collecting and Testing Dust Knowing dust characteristics facilitates ventilation equipment selection By Lee Morgan, Farr APC In 1998, both the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) issued more stringent requirements relating to the use of respirators in plants. Though respirators are critical to shielding workers from ambient dust and fumes, they are not the total answer. The new OSHA standard (29 CFR 1910.134) states that employers are expected to use engineering controls to protect workers from air contaminants and not rely on respirators alone. While respirators do a good job of protecting workers' lungs, they do nothing to safeguard machinery and process areas from contamination that may result in costly equipment failure, constant rework, or general cleaning nuisances. The equipment currently used in fabricating plants has reached a new level of sophistication. High-definition plasma cutters, ...