Metalworking Dust Collection System

Here are a few examples from OSHA’s list of published standards. These are expressed as Permissible Exposure Limits (PEL’s), which are measured and averaged over a worker’s 8-hour shift.

• Cadmium: 0.005 mg/m³
• Beryllium: 0.0002 mg/m³ 
• Hexavalent chromium: 0.005 mg/m³
• Lead: 0.05 mg/m³
• Nickel: 1.0 mg/m³
• Manganese: 5.0 mg/m³ 
• Cobalt: 0.1 mg/m³ 
• Aluminum: 15 mg/m³ 

Health risks vary from substance to substance, but many risks are severe. Exposure to cadmium, for example, is associated with kidney damage and increased risk of lung and prostate cancer. Hexavalent chromium is a known carcinogen, as well, and has been associated with cancer deaths. Other substances might not lead to death but are still very harmful; for example, exposure to manganese is linked with a condition called manganism. This disorder carries symptoms similar to Parkinson’s Disease. Exposure to lead has well known negative neurological effects.

Fires and explosions are another serious risk of certain metallic dusts. When combustible dusts accumulate in an enclosed space, such as inside a dust collector, they are susceptible to explosion. If this dust mixes in the right concentration with air and encounters an ignition source, it could explode. As workers in the field know, ignition sources are abundant in metalworking shops, so this possibility is very real and very dangerous. Dust explosions injure or kill many workers every year.

Grinding, blasting, and polishing metallic surfaces produces a complex mix of dust. Not only must an employer know the content of the substrate, but also the various coatings and films that might be on the object. In these metalworking processes, it must be assumed that all of those substances will become airborne as fine particulates. Without an active effort to mitigate that dust, workers in the immediate—and general—area will be exposed.

Metal cutting, or today’s advanced processes of laser or plasma cutting, produce dangerous dusts, as well. In the case of a process like laser cutting, the particulates produced are exceptionally fine. This is due to the high temperatures involved. The finer the particulate, the more easily it is inhaled into the lungs and absorbed by the body. A metalworking facility using these processes needs to be vigilant in controlling its air quality. These processes need powerful air filtration equipment in order to protect workers and keep a facility clean.