THE DANGERS OF WOOD DUST

In January 2020, the HSE introduced new and revised workplace exposure limit guidance for 13 substances, including wood dust. Wood dust is a hazardous substance and inhaling the fine particles can develop into respiratory diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and occupational asthmas

What are the Dangers of Hardwood Dust Exposure?

Wood dust can cause a range of serious health problems to people exposed to it on a daily basis. Firstly, it can cause asthma, which carpenters and joiners are four times more likely to get compared to any other UK workers. Hardwood dust, specifically, can cause cancer, particularly of the nose. It is most notably the settled dust containing fine particles that are most likely to damage the lungs. It can also cause certain skin disorders.

What operations cause high wood dust exposures?

The following work or recreational activities are likely to produce high volumes of dust exposure, and are particularly notable when occurring daily over long periods:

• Wood machining operations, particularly sawing, routing or turning.
• Sanding, by machine or by hand.
• Use of compressed airlines to blow dust off furniture that is being worked on.
• Hand assembly of machined or sanded components.
• Operations involving cutting or processing composite boards, for example medium-density fibreboard (MDF).
• The bagging and handling of wood dust from dust extraction systems or dust collection machines.
• Sweeping up of wood dust from floors or high level cleaning of dust.

What you need to do

Exposure limits:

• Both hardwood and softwood dusts have a Workplace Exposure Limit (WEL) which must not be exceeded.
• The WEL for hardwood dust is 3mg/m3 (based on an 8-hour time-weighted average).
• The WEL for softwood dust is 5mg/m3 (based on an 8-hour time-weighted average).
• For mixtures of hardwood and softwood dusts the WEL for hardwood dust of 3mg/m3 applies to all wood dusts present in that mixture.

Adequate control of wood dust is achieved when:

• The eight principles of good control practice are applied as set out in Schedule 2A of COSHH;
• Exposure is below the relevant WEL; and
• Exposure is reduced to as low a level as is reasonably practicable.

How should Wood Dust Exposure be Controlled?

Under COSHH, employers (including contractors) have a duty to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment in all areas in the workplace. They must also take steps to ensure they prevent or adequately control exposure to wood dust and provide suitable protective equipment.

LEV Systems for Controlling Wood Dust

Installing an LEV system doesn’t automatically mean your workers are protected. In many cases an inadequate or insufficient LEV is installed and the process of proper design and testing is missed, leaving workers still exposed. At Vent-Tech we are highly experienced in assessing, designing, installing and testing systems to keep companies compliant and their workers safe.

A fixed LEV that will effectively control the dust at source as it is produced is a good place to start. But with most processes, the fine wood dust becomes suspended in air and capturing the dust is then all about controlling the movement of this dusty air. This can be significantly more difficult as the high-speed rotating blades and cutters of woodworking machines act like fans and generate strong air movements.

The job of the LEV system is to contain this air movement and with it the dust. Many LEV designs fail to do this because the hood or ducting design is wrong. To get your LEV system right you need to consult with an experienced company who understand:

• The particular requirements of LEV systems used in woodworking.
• The basic design principles.
• Flexibility in workshops with multiple workers and multiple work stations.
• How to check that your LEV is working properly.
• How to test for COSHH compliance.

Are you keeping your workers safe?

Test your compliance with H21Safety's FREE Onsite Health and Safety Consultation!

Our FREE onsite Health and Safety Consultation will establish whether your current Health and Safety Management System?is actually working and whether employees are observing Health and Safety practises at work.

Once a date has been agreed, a fully qualified and experienced Health and Safety Consultant will visit your business and undertake a spot check on the status of your organisations Health and Safety Management System and arrangements. This will include a review of your Health and Safety policy, arrangements, systems, risk assessments and employee safety training that you have in place.

Following the onsite consultation, we will issue a detailed report offering guidance on how to make any required improvements.

We are happy to assist with any recommendations if required. However, this is entirely up to the client and there is no obligation.

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