Dust in the Workplace - Compliance with Safety and Regulators

If you work in an industrial setting, you may have had to deal with a great deal of dust. You might think that dust is harmless, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Under the right conditions, dust can become toxic and combustible. Combustible means that accumulated dust can cause a serious explosion.

COMBUSTIBLE DUST - MANY FORMS OF DUST INCLUDING METAL DUST CAN BE COMBUSTIBLE

When dust becomes airborne it settles on surfaces throughout facilities on lighting, beams, ductwork and ledges. It is believed that 1/32 of an inch (the size of a paper clip) in sufficient quantity of a room’s surface can cause an explosion.

TOXIC METALS DUST

Toxic metals, including "heavy metals" are individual metals and metal compounds that along with many other forms of dust can negatively affect people's health. Exposing workers to dust on a job site can contribute to a number of health risks, and it is imperative that companies employ approved safety measures to minimize dust levels within their facilities.

WorkSafe regulation and guidelines protect foundry and other facilities employees by reducing worker exposure to hazardous dust such as; crystalline silica, asbestos and a range of metal and wood dust.

Cleaning up dust by using compressed air, sweeping and shoveling or other methods that can volatize dust causing an exposion. Ceanup of dust should be completed with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 652 guidelines. Enviro-Vac utilize a verity of vacuums and industrial vacuum loaders equipped with high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtration systems and auto baggers that are NFPA compiant for combustible dust.

Enviro-Vac’s portfolio of operational experience coupled with our comprehensive safety training in hazardous materials abatement and industrial vacuuming, decontamination and plant cleanup enable the development of innovative and safe solutions for a verity of decontamination projects including overhead cleaning and industrial plant dust down. All our projects include a detailed risk-assessment, job safety analysis and site-specific safe work procedures.

Enviro-Vac is one of the oldest privately owned environmental contractors in Canada that offer a full suite of services in hazardous materials abatement and decontamination including negative pressure shrink-wrap containments and industrial vacuum services and are available to work both small and large-scale projects across Canada. The head office is based in Surrey, BC.

If you have any questions about this article or would like to talk to us about hazardous materials abatement solutions, decontamination of facilities, high-risk containments or industrial vacuum cleaning, please call us on our toll-free number, (888) 296-2499.