I have visited and wood recycling facility in order to evaluate employees’ exposure levels to wood dust. The facility was mostly processing mostly packaging wood products into shredded wood mixes of various qualities for the wood board manufacturing industry, agricultural industry or for use as a bio-fuel. The site processed up to 6 thousand pallets per week but the total number was variable depending on order quantities. The final products were temporarily stored on site. The site consisted of a large storage building for high grade products and a maintenance/office building.
The site processed mixed (hard & soft) waste wood products with the vast majority of the product being soft wood. The main hazardous substance employees could be exposed to was inhalable wood dust. Both Hard and Soft wood dust have workplace exposure limits (WEL) set to 5 mg/m3 averaged over an 8 hour working period. In addition to this the hard wood dust has “carc & sen” and soft wood has “sen” designation which means it has the ability to cause cancer and/ or occupational asthma.
The low grade material were unloaded on one end of the site where they were continuously loaded into a large wood shredder. The shredded material was that transported via powerscreen separator and deposited on the ground. An operator working on a JCB loader either transported the deposited material to a storage area or loaded it onto transport lorries.
All the activities being carried out on site such as unloading, shredding, transporting to storage and loading had the potential to generate significant quantities of wood dust. The main control measures of site were wetting of the materials prior handling and shredding using semi enclosed and enclosed shredding machines. Operatives working with the machines were also protected by installed cabin air filtration systems.
The wood dust air monitoring results suggested that the employees were unlikely to be exposed to significant levels of wood dust. None of the personal exposures exceeded the level above which the wood dust would be considered to be hazardous. I have concluded that due to the low exposure level of employees, formal health surveillance program was not necessary.
Risks to Health from Wood Dust
Wood processing causes small particles of wood dust to become suspended in the air. Employees working in this vicinity can inhale these particles in which the upper respiratory system can filter out the larger particles. However, the smaller particles can go deep into the lungs and causes damage scarring the lung tissue which causes irreversible damage. This reduces the lung capacity and over time makes it more difficult to breathe.
Inhaling wood dust can cause breathing problems and lead to lung diseases such as Occupational Asthma as well as lung cancer. Breathing in the particles is the most common type of exposure to wood dust. Inhaling wood dust is not the only health risk in play, getting the dust in the eyes can also cause irriation and damage as well as skin contact which can result inm ulceration of the skin and dermatitis.
Jobs involving sawing, cutting, routing, turning, sandling. Dry sweeping, and bagging dust all have high exposure levels in which you should use the recommended PPE and RPE to protect yourself from exposure. You can reduce the exposure or eliminate the risk by purchasing pre-cut or processed wood materials. If this is not an option then consider a LEV (Local exhaust ventilation) which is the most effective way to control dust at the source. These systems capture the dust from cutting, shaping, and sanding wood either from hand or machine.
When it comes to wood dust it is highly recommended hiring a professional team to come and monitor the exposure levels. Sysco Environmental have extensive experience in monitoring wood dust in wood processing industries and can help clients achieve effective control in furniture manufacturing, joinery workshops, wood waste proccing, and more.
From using Sysco Environmentals survices to your advantage you can benefit from employees’ wood dust exposure monitoring, assessment of existing engineering and control methods, employee interation with LEV’s, respiratory protection suitablity, and requirements for health surveillance.
Get in touch today for a free quote regarding wood dust exposure and protect your workers from irreversible health effects.
