Just a simple question for those of you more knowledgable than I. I understand the logic behind ear and eye protection in the shop but sometimes I have asked myself while working “should I be wearing a mask?, how dangerous is this sawdust floating around me?” How danderous is regular pine sawdust? Is it just hardwoods that do damage? Do I always have to wear a mask? If I work in a well ventilated area can I get away with no mask? What kind of guideline should I use because I do want to be safe in the shop.
Thanks for the input,
Brian M
Replies
I think that all wood dusts should be considered carcinogenic. Some wood types may be more irritating or can more easily provoke an allergic response but all should be considered dangerous, particularly the very small particles that can lodge in your lungs. A fellow woodworker who is a pulmonologist recently commented on Knots about his experience seeing lung cancer in a few woodworkers. The take home message is invest in a good dust mask and wear it. Your respiratory tract will thank you.
Go to this web page: http://bodd.cf.ac.uk/index.html
Once there, use the BoDD search enginne.
I do not know how many species native to North Americe are there.
I do not think that lung cancer is any more prevelant in wood workers than in the general population. I don't think much research has been done specifically targeted to wood workers. The biggest problems listed in the above data base is dermatitis.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood
Look at FWW, June 2003(No. 163), page 22. I think that article says it all.
Brian, you really should protect yourself against the sawdust. I've provided a link below to Frank's post on pneumonitis, which was the specific topic on the thread involved. I'm no pulmonologist, but I have enough medical background in general, and personal background in sinus infections and rhinitis, specifically, to know that breathing these small particles and having them irritate the heck out of the respiratory system is not good for you.
The literature, from what I understand, provides plenty of evidence that breathing sawdust can be very, very bad over the long haul, even if you don't present immediate, short-term symptoms of reactions to it. The smallest particles seem to be the most dangerous, and might not even be visible to your eye as they hover in the air around you.
A heads-up is appropriate here: If you ever display the slightest allergic symptoms to a particular type of wood (say, cedar or walnut or one of the "exotics") be sure and wear extra protection for your skin and schnoz. The allergic reaction will only get worse otherwise.
forestgirl Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Yeah, most of this stuff is a 'sensitizer' (spelling??). The more you are exposed, the more sensitive you become to them. The first few months you show no reaction at all, then, WHAM! it gets you. Usually that first WHAM will be a pretty good case, too. The more you breath in, the more and sooner you will become sensitive.
After a few month of handling rosewood with no precautions I developed a case of dermatitis that was like a bad case of poison ivy. Took a month to get it cleared up. Now i have a DC port at every station around my shop and wear protective clothing, gloves, masks, etc. Still occasionally get a little skin itch but nothing like the first case.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood
Oops, I forgot the link:
http://forums.taunton.com/tp-knots/messages?msg=16111.8forestgirl Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
FG-
So what do you do to protect your lungs? The cyclone systems are pretty pricey but if that's what I need so be it. Bill Pentz' site outlines one that appears to out-do the pre-made ones but that looks like quite a project. Are you just using Dan's air scrubber? I know I have to deal with this problem just trying to find out what to do first.
Happy WW-
Johnny
A good dust mask will go a LONG way.I used to get wicked head colds until I figured out that a mask does wonder specially if you use it when you make dust! You gotta find one that's comfy.
2. a dust collector if you don't have one-$150. to 300 plus
3.an air cleaner that hangs in the shop and removes the fine particles from the air-very effiective! $200-400 plus
cheers,
silver
I am woefully under-equipped for dust control. No air cleaner, yet. No dust collector, yet. What I do without these is the following:
Sand and plane outside when possible
Wear at least a dust mask, and sometimes a respirator, when producing quantities of very fine dust, especially cedar, which I'm sensitive to
Use my big shop vac to it's maximum potential (granted, it ain't much) to get dust at the source. It has direct hook-ups to the router table, tablesaw, band saw and jointer.
Soon: use a box-fan equipped with a furnace filter when using my scroll saw and sanding inside. Maybe build a down-draft table too.
Wear a "running suit" (slick, polyester) or ski overpants plus a cap when sawing something like spalted maple or doing a lot of sanding, then take those off and toss 'em in the dryer, to avoid looking like Linus spreading icky stuff all over the house.
I confess, I don't slap a mask on every time I cross-cut a piece of wood, but I'm pretty good about using one most of the time. Last year's absolutely gruesome retail sales at my little store-front (non-woodworking) prevented any major tool purchases, of which an air cleaner and DC were in the top 4 candidates.
What's specifically on the list: A JDS air cleaner, and a Jet canister-filter dust collector. Most people will recommend getting the DC first if you can only get one. I dunno, though. I'm tempted to spring for the air cleaner first. I've never even considered getting a cyclone DC -- in my small shop situation, just don't see the need for it.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
FG-
thanks for your comprehensive reply. Guess I gotta get with the program; I haven't done much on dust. It'll be my next purchase though. What I seem to have gathered from Bill Pentz' website though is that the lesser units don't filter down to a small enough size to really help you with the very dangerous tiny particles. The Oneida and woodsucker units are pretty darn expensive, then add on the ducting etc and it can get out of hand. Remember Vinnie Barbarino? "I'm so confused!!"
On another note, when I was at the WW show here in Jersey I picked up a card from a dust mask company (see below)..might want to check it out..not cheap though.
Be well-
Johnny
http://www.dustbeegone.com
I have been a practicing pulmonologist for 20 yrs. Your decision is like most others in life, you need to weigh the risks with the benefits to help guide you. What are the benefits to not wearing protection? You will save a few dollars and the aggravation of getting into the habit of wearing a mask. If you go further and make or purchase a dust collection system(s), you will spend more money(probably less than $1500). What are the risks? I am unaware of any research showing sawdust will cause lung cancer. This is an area I keep in touch with so I'd be surprised if I am incorrect here. Sawdust may cause nasopharyngeal cancer, I am not sure about the data there but it is not too big a cuase of cancer or I would have heard that too(everythnig is relative). However, there is no question that sawdust can cause irritation to the nasopharynx manifest as sneezing, coughing, runny nose. Plicatic acid in Western red cedar can cause asthma. Many people report respiratory symtpoms from exposure to many different wood dusts but really good studies establishing beyond a shadow of a doubt they cause asthma are few and far between. That doesn't mean they don't, it means only it has not been studied in sufficient detail and published in a reputable medical journal. Thus, it is hard to give you specific statistics on the risk of developing such problems. But remember this. The odds may favor you having no problems at all over a life time of exposure, but do you want to take a chance? Do you want to take the chance you may have to give up woodworking should you develop severe respiratory problems? I can guarantee, you would end up paying someone like me an awful lot more than $1500. to help you treat and live with your new medical problems. And far beyond the dollar cost to you, consider the possible need for daily medications for possibly the remainder of your life and the fact that all the medication in the world may improve how you feel but many patients never get back to feeling normal on a regualr basis. This was a bit of a long response but take it from someone who spends all day every day seeing how much people can suffer, how miserable their lives can be. The mask is a bargain.
If you have insurance, use no protection and if you get sick the insurance will be a good investment.
Few people outside of full time workers in old factories have health problems related to sawdust.
Some people have alergic reactions to wood, but breathing dust has little to do with that - skin contact is sufficient.
"Few people outside of full time workers in old factories have health problems related to sawdust." That statement is contradicted directly by posts in woodworking forums like this one. Sorry, George, I think you are way off base with that one.
Insurance may help with the financial burden of an illness, but I dare say most of us would much rather not be sick in the first place. forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Folks, I think John posted the defintive answer esp. when coming from a pro in the field. FWIW I recently completed a WW course at a local community college and the instructor insisted that we wear masks when maching more than a board or two despite the commercial sized air cleaners and dust collection system! And the masks he preferred are the cartridge type as opposed to even the best of the surgical style (more leakage around the sides). Perhaps over doing it but I salute the caution. I of course do not have either system in my small shop! I do now wear the mask when doing several boards and allways when sweeping up or vacuuming. Last year I had a bout with what I thought was an allergy to pollen. Turns out it wasn't, yep you guessed it .... good old fashioned sawdust of any type when inhaled! Wasn't wearing the mask 'cause I had a beard (effectively neutralizes the effectiveness according to an article the instructor handed out). I shaved!
Bill Pentz's site is the best collection of information on what to do about sawdust: http://cnets.net/~eclectic/woodworking/cyclone/index.cfm It's very convincing that a good system is worth buying, or making if you've less cash. It shows how.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is probably the most reputable source of information on health in the world. Here's what they have to say on the subject: http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/roc/tenth/profiles/s189wood.pdf
It begins "Wood dust is known to be a human carcinogen...".
I've certainly heard of a lot more people who developed allergies though.
Here's an updated link the NIH information
http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/roc/twelfth/profiles/WoodDust.pdf#search=wood%20dust
There are people with health problems who blame them on sawdust. As far as I can tell the problems were present prior to any exposure to sawdut.
For example, my nephew has asthma as does the rest of his family. He has problems when around sawdust, but then he has the same problems in a dusty house.
As I said "Few people outside of full time workers in old factories have health problems related to sawdust."
You can believe what you wish and you can even base it on a poor sample of reports.
"...poor sample of reports." Uhhhhhh, yeah, and what was the value of n in your research study?
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Edited 3/1/2004 1:59:44 AM ET by forestgirl
The fact that the DC system as a whole is so expensive is one reason I'm thinking of getting an air cleaner first. My shop is so small that if I put a good, extra-capacity air cleaner in it, the machine would pull the escaped dust out of the air pretty quickly. There was an excellent test-and-review of different cleaners in PW a few months ago, so I'm following those results to make a choice.
The cartridge system that Jet introduced last year (and now Oneida, Delta and I believe Grizzly are following up with) filters down to 2 microns and has 3-4 times the amount of filter area available. I think I'd be more than happy with it were some little elf drop one off as a birthday present ;-)
You could probably get by without a huge amount of ducting right at the beginning by arranging your tools such that the collector could reach most of the directly. I find that the big shop vac is more than powerful enough to handle my jointer, so that leaves the table saw and band saw as the primary stationary tools to deal with. The planer is on wheels, so it can be moved if need be, and the router table does pretty OK with the shop vac.
A downdraft table could be put on wheels too, or built into the table saw. I saw a reader's tip recently that showed a home-made junction box with the DC hose going in one side, and 3 (I think) hoses going from different machines, each with a blast-gate available.
Ahhh, gotta get back to work -- dry-walling tonight. Let me know if you want any info from that air filter review. I could get it to you in a couple days!
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Hi fg, Without trying to hi jack this thread, have you considered the cost of the filters if you only run the micro dust filter without dust collection?I am amazed at the speed the filters get loaded in a busy shop even with an efficient dust collection system.We have been running a lot of MDF and there is no question the dust filter is working.I am a little leary of using compressd air on the finest filter for fear of damaging the last line of defence.
Hi Jako. Have to admit, I hadn't gotten that far in my thoughts. Sure would get my attention early on, though, wouldn't it?! I'm glad I don't work in MDF (or very rarely, anyway).
Aren't there micro-filters that you can wash? Hmmmmm, gotta look into that before choosing a machine.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Hey Jamie,
Thought I would post the article on the Oneida website re air filters. It is something to consider.
"Overhead Shop Air Cleaners Can Increase Airborne Health Hazards in the Woodshop
The ubiquitous air cleaners that hang on shop ceilings don’t improve shop air quality. A scientific look at how they work and the percent of fine material actually filtered indicate that in the best case they don’t improve shop air or in the worst-case scenario increase the fine airborne particulate in suspension. Recently a national wood working magazine published 3rd party filter efficiency tests of these units using a 1-100 micron test material dust. The results were misunderstood. Actually, the data presents a strong argument as to the ineffectiveness of these units. ASHRAE and other recognized tests use a test powder between 0.3 – 10 microns in size. The ASHRAE test measures the efficiency of filter by measuring and counting all the particles that migrate the filter. It is the 1-10 micron particle size range industrial hygienists consider the most damaging to human health. This size has the ability to lodge into the deepest recesses of the lung, and is very difficult for the body to excrete. It is also the predominate size range floating for hours in your shop air. The test results indicate that even the best machine tested did not filter the finest and most lung damaging material. If a one-micron particle is the size of a BB than a 100-micron is a bowling ball. The best filtering machine tested allowed 0.1 grams out of 80 grams through the filter. This might sound good on the surface, but assuming a fairly even size distribution of the test dust, no size break down was given, the 0.1 grams represents the entire weight of all of the 1- 15 micron dust in the sample. Actually, calculating by average weights of the size distribution, it’s possible that none of the material in the 1-15 micron range was filtered on the most efficient unit tested. It is precisely this range that constitutes the worst health hazard. A 100-micron particle, assuming stoke equivalent or roughly spherical, is one million times heavier than a one-micron particle, and has a settling velocity of about 10 inches a second, about the same as a falling cotton ball. Large particles this size are far too heavy to float up to the ceiling where the units are typically positioned. The second misconception in the same article is the idea that the proper size air cleaner will filter all the air in your shop in 6 minutes. The example given: a 15 x 20 x 8 ft shop contains 2,400 cubic feet of air, divide this by 6 to get the minimum CFM required, which would be a 400 CFM air unit. Ventilation engineers use a factor for incomplete mixing which in this case would be a factor of somewhere between 7- 10. In other words, based on this formula the real length of time to filter all the air in the shop would be between 42 to 60 minutes, and this is only valid if the offending external source of dust emission is shut down. Even assuming an ideal 100% filtration the removal process is much slower than the dust generation process. Meanwhile, you are in the shop breathing contaminated air. Commonly woodworker’s will comment,” when I look in the filter I see trapped dust, isn’t it beneficial to collect at least some dust?” In this case the answer is no. Not with the machines tested here. The dust accumulated on the filter is only a fraction of the total dust drawn into the unit. The remaining dust is passed through the filter and exhausted. The circulating fan keeps this dust suspended and aloft in the air you are breathing. The dust on that filter is evidence that too much dust is in your shop air to begin with. Quoting American Governmental Industrial Hygienists,” when toxic contaminants are evolved in the workroom, recirculation must be avoided.” This is why these units are not used in industry. A properly designed dust collection system lowers airborne particulate to safer levels no higher than 5mg/M3. It does this by entraining the dust with air near the source of dust emission and then filtering the air to near 100%. Air quality testing in industry is performed routinely where workers wear dust monitors on their collar. It’s not uncommon for well-designed dust collection systems to lower airborne dust levels by 10 to 30 times over uncontrolled environments. Get the facts and protect your health.
-Robert Witter Oneida Air Systems Inc."
Hi Doug, I'll have to print that article out and take it with me for my DDS appt. this morning -- gotta go get the pearly whites spiffed up. Will respond later today! forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
OK, I took last night off but did read the "article." My impressions: It presents some good things to think about vis a vis the idea of having a filter first and getting the dust collector later. If the DC is as efficient as they state, and I could trust myself to hook it up each time (no $$ for lots of ducting at the beginning), then it would probably be the better idea. It also puts the "clean air in x minutes" thing more in perspective of the real world.
However, I found the tone of the article very defensive, the quality of writing somewhat poor and some of the assumptions weak, the latter especial in the 2nd paragraph when addressing the efficiency issue. His introductory statement is "A scientific look at how they work and the percent of fine material actually filtered indicate that in the best case they don’t improve shop air or in the worst-case scenario increase the fine airborne particulate in suspension." Unfortunately, he follows that up with a rather unscientific examination of the article's results, making assumptions about the samples tested, and forming conclusions on the basis of size distribution that he notes earlier was not provided in the article. He uses a similary flawed argument to conclude that it was the worst of the particles, and possibly all of them, that escaped the filter.
I tend to think that Mr. Witter was trying to head off some perceived shifting of WWer $$s that might go toward filters instead of DC systems on the basis of that article. In a small percentage of cases, that might happen (someone like me, very limited resources, LOL) but overall I'd not think it would be a problem.
Again, I'm not saying he didn't make some good points, and I thank you for taking the time to post the quote. He has made me think twice about putting the filter as a higher priority, but not a great presentation, IMO. I wonder if he sent a copy to the magazine.....forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Jamie,
Not to defend Witter but as I recall he holds a PhD in the subject. He is a chief mucky muck in Oneida, and may even be a principal, but he has been making the same argument for a number of years. The article may be a reaction to the AW tests but his points are not new.
He is also correct that OSHA has developed the same information and conclusions.
That said, I do have an air cleaner but I do not rely on it for any health reasons. It is used all the time to clean the shop air before I start my finishing. Works real well at that and is worth what I spent on it.
Sawdust in itself is not bad for you in well ventilated shops certainly but composite board adhesives combined with a fine airborne dust will find it's way to every part of your shop and body. You airhose yourself off from all the table saw cuttings with your PPP but still some always remains. One time I was cutting some MDF raised panels and collected quite a dust scene. I pulled my positive air-flow mask off and changed clothes went home to have my wife ask me what the new cologne was. lol. Should we start keeping some canaries around?
FG - I have a small shop but I have equipped it with a Delta single-stage DC and and overhead DC by JDS. I further improved on the Delta by adding a second stage cyclone collector. The cost of the entire package (bought over a period of time) was around $500. I do not have ducting - I just connect each machine to the cyclone as I use it.
I read all the posts about the overhead DC. I am not an expert and can't argue either way but I can testify that after installing the overhead DC the amount of surface dust in the shop decreased dramatically, I would guess by at least 75%. I run it 24/7 and must clean the filter at least weekly.
I rely on the Delta for the big stuff, but the JDS definitely gets most of the airborne stuff.
Next step is a better bag for the Delta. It lets too much small escape.
Dan T.
Edited 2/26/2004 11:24:10 AM ET by DanT
Edited 2/26/2004 11:25:12 AM ET by DanT
Howie, thanks for your input in this thread and the other one! Sounds like I might want to re-arrange my priorities. I'm leaning toward (1) overhead blade guard with DC connection, (2) dust collector and (3) filter, in that order, building a downdraft table in the meantime.
I figure a DC won't help much until I can capture that dust that spins off the table saw blade, and I really need a new guard anyway. The DC is the biggie, 'cause I'm totally holding out for that canister-top unit from Jet.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
Capturing the dust at the point of generation is always the priority and best investment Jamie.
I'm in the process of moving and my shop and my reference library is packed otherwise I would give you the Woodsmith issue that has the downdraft table I built. I think is was like issue #80 something. Maybe you could go to their site and see if you can find it. It's big enough and flat enough that I also frequently use it as an assembly table. It was probably the best thing I ever did in the shop.
Thanks, Howie, I'll check it out. Ihave 2 or 3 plans for smaller tables, but don't think I've seen one for a big one like you describe.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
I too, having a relatively small shop - 13 x 24 - and it being new, have been waiting on the dust collector and air cleaner. It does make sense that if the air cleaner is mounted on the ceiling, that it is pulling the dust past you and in effect increasing your exposure, but I guess this only applies to those dust particles small enough to truly be airborne. Can you mount an air cleaner lower in the room - say waist high - and get the same cleaning effect? I guess really the most important thing to do is spring for the dust collector and ducting to get the dust before it has a change to become airborne. A lot to think about."Well-behaved women rarely make history."from the Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love
See if this answers your question.
The two most important criteria for an air cleaner are the CFM and the filters. You want a CFM factor that will clean the size of your shop and a filter that removes the particle size that you are concerned about.
To determine the size or required air flow, use this formula: Volume of your shop (Length x width x Height) times Number of air changes per hour (typically 6 - 8) divided by 60. This will give you an answer in Cubic Feet per Minute which is how air cleaners are measured. MOST AIR CLEANER MANUFACTURERS RATE THE CFM OF THE FAN ONLY, but there are losses due to the filters. If you are building your own or if the air cleaner you are purchasing rates only the fan, figure you will lose about 25 - 40% for filtering losses.
As important as the air cleaner size is how and where you mount it. Try to mount at about 8-10 feet above the floor (no lower than 6'or 2/3 of the floor to ceiling distance if less than 8' ceiling). Mount along the longest wall so the intake is approximately 1/3 the distance from the shorter wall. Mount no further than 4-6 inches from the wall.
The exhaust is the largest determiner of the circulation pattern. You are trying to encourage circulation parallel to the floor/ceiling so ceiling mounting is not recommended. Use a smoke stick (or a cigar) to observe and maximize circulation. Use a secondary fan to direct air to the intake if necessary. Also, consider that a standard 24" floor fan moves a lot of air and, in some shops, just positioning it in a doorway with a window or other door open can accomplish as much or more than an air cleaner. It's all in the circulation patterns.
The exhaust is the clean air so that is where you want to position yourself. Do not place the air cleaner over the a dust producer. That will guarantee that the operator will be in direct line between the dust producer and the air cleaner. The operator wants to be in the clean air stream. If the dust has to pass your nose to get to the air cleaner, you get no benefits. If you have an odd shaped shop, two smaller units may be better than one large one.
DO NOT RELY ON A AIR CLEANER TO ACT AS A DUST COLLECTOR. The purpose of and air cleaner is to keep airborne dust in suspension and reduce airborne dust as quickly as possible AFTER THE DUST PRODUCER HAS BEEN TURNED OFF.
I have had the Oneida 1.5 HP system for five years with ducting designed by the company which places collection points at all of the stationary tools. My only modification to the system has been to add a secondary cyclone (off-the-shelf plastic can-top unit) to catch the heavy flow of chips from the planer and jointer. I did this because it is much easier to empty and because it works well.
If you put your hand at any of the collection points while the Oneida DC is on you'll feel suction, more of it where the larger diameter inlets are. This isn't scientific, but it proves the system is working and, hopefully, is catching a lot of the finer particles.
HOWEVER, my shop is not dust-free and there is an accumulation of sawdust, larger particles no doubt, at each machine including the band saw and the cabinet saw, even though the bandsaw has two DC ports and the cabinet saw is fitted with a four-inch overhead blade guard/DC collector as well as the usual five-inch bottom port of the cabinet. Most of the dust that doesn't get sucked up is dust that collects/deposits on the tops of the saws.
How do I know there is a lot of dust NOT getting into the system? My wife comes into the shop once in a while and points to all the fine accumulations on various things (chairs, stereo, tool tops, etc.) that never got picked up by the Oneida OR the overhead air cleaner which I've also had for about five years.
So, what to conclude? Keep that dust mask handy and do as much sanding outside as you can while hoping that's enough.
Brian, I think Rob's given you some good advice. Fine sawdust, regardless of the species, desiccates mucous membranes and clinical history strongly indicates that long term exposure to it can lead to cancer in the respiratory system...I don't think the correlation is as tight as it is between smoking and lung cancer, but there does seem to be a connection between woodworking and nasal cancer. This type of cancer isn't all that common, however, it's still worth doing what you can to avoid the risk.
Depending upon the species, there are all kinds of other toxic risks. The extractives in some woods are literally poisonous in high enough doses and even small doses can be dangerous to individuals that have other health complications. For example yew contains compounds that affect the cardiovascular system and could be a problem for anyone with a heart condition...But the bigger risks involve allergic reactions. The various wood extractives in literally hundreds of species prove to be allergens to only a small percentage of people, but if you're one of the unlucky ones, it can take only minute doses to kick off serious symptoms. And finally, toxins created by the molds and other fungi that decay wood can also be dangerous...so, the issue isn't just one of avoiding certain species of wood.
Don't mean to scare you. There are a lot more dangerous things in life than woodworking...for example; car racing or messing around with someone else's wife...and I think, even in woodworking, the risk of injury while using power tools presents a greater danger than the chemistry of the wood itself.
Sawdust was one of two things that took "Poppie" way before his time. I'm sure his pipe didn't help, of course. Nothing theoretical here, lung cancer got him; he spent a lot more time in a cloud of sawdust than in a cloud of pipe smoke.
While I would not put sawdust in the category of normally causing cancer I would put it in the category of causing lung and upper respitory problems. You would with both wear a mask at least in most situations. The difference is that in the second category I would not become fanatical and wear one when all I was doing was cutting a piece or two. Put it perspective. If you walk through the woods you would be breathing in cancer causing agents (VOC's) but do you wear a mask normally out there. Life is enough of a bummer without getting over excited about sawdust.
Saw dust is listed by the US Gov't as a "Group 1-Known Human Carcinogen"
Go here for info: http://ntp-server.niehs.nih.gov/htdocs/liason/65FR17891.pdf
Brian,
A link to Oneida, one of the better manufactors of DC systems. One of the tech articles is a list of woods and the conditions they can cause: http://www.oneida-air.com/news.htm. You may also want to review the article on air filters. I'm not sure I agree with their conclusions but they make a compelling case against them.
Bottom line: Bill CLinton was right - you really can't be too careful about what you inhale.
DOug
Grab yourself a box of the simple white dust masks to start. There are several brands and ranges of micron filtration pricing from $20 - $40 for a box of twenty and are sold just about everywhere. You can use them several times before you have to throw them away (if you don't mind smelling the stench of your old breath). They are easy to put on and off, relatively comfortable, and are way better than nothing.
I have allergies and have very little problems using them.
Happy sanding. :)
Brian,
Wood dust varies greatly in terms of its toxicity and each of us have different tolerances. Before working with any wood or glued composite like MDF I highly recommend doing a search for wood toxicity and glue toxicity on Google then picking an information source that you are comfortable with. When working with any of the woods listed as highly toxic, I strongly recommend wearing a good form fitting, tight sealing dust mask with fine removable cartridge filters. With some, gloves and long sleeves are recommended. I personally try to capture the fine dust at its source and wear a good 3M half-mask when making fine dust and either leave that mask on for the next few hours or leave the shop afterward while my fans and air cleaner clear my shop air. A good automotive paint supplier fit my mask. You can get one from most hardware stores, but really should ensure a good fit that does not leak air. I also recommend a hat and jumper that get left in your shop to keep from tracking that fine dust into your car or home.
In addition to potential toxicity, we also know from the National Institute of Health that fine wood dust is identified from creating no symptoms to a wide variety of problems including a potential for the growth of polyps and cancer. I’m not a medical expert, so must defer to them. They say that the dust from sanding (hand or machine) is often sized in the 0 to 30 micron range, about 1/3 the thickness of a human hair. This size dust goes airborne in our shops and will stay airborne for hours even after all our tools, fans, etc. are shut down. They report this finest dust goes right past many of our natural protections and lodges deeply in our lungs and sinuses where our bodies have a very difficult time clearing that debris. They also say that over time a large number of professional woodworkers become disabled with respiratory related illnesses.
Most hobbyist air cleaners provide almost no protection from this fine dust for two reasons. First, you end up inhaling that dust for the hours it takes to clean your shop. Second, many of these units do not use fine enough filters certified to remove the 0 to 2 micron sized dust that many studies have identified as the most harmful with long term exposure.
Repeatedly responses to this thread and other dust related threads imply an assumption that is just plain dead wrong. Many assume that because they are hobbyists, they have a fraction of the exposure of professionals. In fact, most commercial concerns must meet air quality standards. Failure to meet those standards can result in fines and facility closure. There are no such standards for hobbyists. In fact, a friend who does air quality measurement for the State of California advises me that he has tested thousands of small shops where people converted their woodworking hobby into a profession then had to be tested as part of adding staff. He said consistently these shops, even with dust collectors and fine filter bags, test results regularly show over 10,000 times the legal concentrations for fine wood dust. He has also tested many hobbyist shops and found the same. As a result, hobbyists frequently get more fine wood dust exposure in four hours than a pro will in over six months. With no regulations or oversight it is up to each of us to decide how much risk we have, then decide on how to mitigate that risk.
I’ve tried hard to share not only the facts, but also solutions that will affordably help to collect that fine dust at its source. You can look at my Dust Collection Basics web page for more information.
Bill Pentz
Edited 2/29/2004 12:15:34 PM ET by bill pentz
Edited 2/29/2004 3:44:09 PM ET by bill pentz
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