Wood Dust

Hazards

Wood dust consists of tiny particles of wood produced during the processing and handling of wood, chipboard, hardboard and other composite boards. The elimination or control of risks from wood dust is required by the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (DSEAR) and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002

The following health problems are among the effects associated with exposure to wood dust:

• skin disorders;
• obstruction in the nose, and rhinitis;
• asthma
• a rare type of nasal cancer.

Regulation 6(1) of the COSHH Regulations requires an assessment to be made (and normally recorded) of risks to health associated with wood dust, together with any action needed to prevent or control those risks.  Regulation 7(1) goes on to say that exposure to wood dust should be prevented, or where this is not reasonably practicable, adequately controlled.

Hardwood dust and softwood dust have been assigned Workplace Exposure Limits (WELs) of 5 mg/m³ (8-hour time-weighted average) under the COSHH Regulations.  Therefore exposure by inhalation to wood dust should be reduced so far as is reasonably practicable and in any case below the WEL.  In COSHH, hardwood dust is defined as a carcinogen. Regulations 7(3) and 7(5) specify additional requirements for the control of carcinogens.

Controling Wood Dust

Activities likely to produce high dust levels include:

• machining operations, particularly sawing, routing and turning;  sanding, by machine and by hand;
• using compressed airlines to blow dust off furniture and other articles before spraying;
• hand assembly of machined/sanded components;
• any operations involving composite boards, e.g. medium-density fibreboard (MDF);
• the bagging of dust from dust extraction systems; and
• cleaning includung the use of compressed airlines and brushing

The method of controling wood dust is largely determined by the nature of the process and, as for all LEV systems, the effectiveness of the capture of the contaminant is determing primarly by ensuring that the hood is designed properly.

AES can supply dust extraction systems for single machines or large workshops ranging  from stand alone extractors to centralised ducted systems.   At AES we specialise in the design and installation of centralised extraction systems for educational establishments including schools and technical colleges.

The C-VAC system from AES is the only centralised vacuum system in the UK specifically designed for the control of wood dust.