Responses to Carbon Dust and Skin Irritation PART 2

Responses to Carbon Dust and Skin Irritation PART 2

Meg Sligar

9/4/2009

Hi Meg,
 
I have seen people take stockinette (2) and cut a hole for the thumb and wear them like long evening gloves. Then put your nitrile or latex glove over that to make sure that no skin is exposed. I've also seen 4 stockinette placed over the neck in the same fashion.
 
I hope that helps.
Sara
 
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I had the same problem, along with respiratory, etc.. solved all with a trip to a local welding supply house.
Protective clothing, welding gloves, respirator, and full face shield worked quite well.
You have to keep your clothing out of the router however.
Monty

 
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Meg:
I try sprinkling baby powder on my arms first, and then it doesn't bother me as much
Good luck,
Lynn H.
 
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Meg,

I use latex gloves with nylon stockinette over my arms and this seems to help alot.

Paul Meyer, CPO
 
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Try coating your hands and arms with powder before grinding and then blow it off!
 
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Some type of arm covering is probably unavoidable. Wear very snug coverings
on your arms. (Don't think of them as sleeves.) And be more careful around
the machine. I cut lengths of stockinette, and I I invert them carefully as
I pull them off, so dust does not drop onto my skin. I've heard of people
spraying their arms with silicone spray prior to grinding, and rinsing off
with cold water, to keep the pours closed.

John B CPO
 
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You will have to redirect the dispersion of the carbon dust with a vaccuum system or a fan or both.
Steven Fries, LPO
 
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Meg:

I used to work with a tech who coated his exposed skin with talcom powder
before grinding carbon. He said it was better to clog his pores with powder
than carbon dust--it seems to work!

Troy Fink, CPO
 
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Meg,

Not sure if you have a dust collector to collect the carbon fiber dust. Regardless, if possible put a fan next to you that blows the dust to the side instead of directly on you.
 
Donny Kuhl
Union Orthotics and Prosthetics
 
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Hi Meg,
I have a small fan mounted on the top of the Trautman on a bracket I had to make. It is aimed down toward the sanding cone and blows away any dust that is coming off the sand cone which keeps it off my arms and hands. There is a dust collector also behind the sand cone so some of the dust gets drawn into that also.. It also keeps me cooler since it is blowing across my face as I use the sander.
Good luck with what ever you come up with.
Bryan Finley CP

 
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Meg,

     As is the norm in this profession, it sounds to me like you have been provided with an inadequate or substandard dust collection system. If a dust collection system has sufficient air volume moving at the appropriate air speed, nearly 100% of all the ground particles can be captured at the source and safely carried away. This will leave you absolutely itch free and actually able to safely grind without the physical need of a respirator or protective clothing.

     Adequate dust collection is a grave and serious health consideration in my mind. Uncollected dust not only puts at risk the employee within direct proximity, but like secondhand smoke, uncollected dust effectively pollutes and contaminates the whole surrounding area (which is often times the entire shop.) Unfortunately much of this noxious particulate matter is nearly invisible to the naked eye and can be fairly insidious throughout long term exposure.

     Although carbon fiber is not classified as a carcinogen, both carbon dust and fiberglass dust share the following dubious distinction. The ground dust is similar to small microscopic razor-blade like particles. When inhaled they immediately began cutting into your healthy lung tissue. They tend to resist being coughed up and instead burrow deeper and deeper causing scaring and destruction of delicate alveoli. When enough alveolar damage has taken place this condition is diagnosed as emphysema and is sadly incurable.
 
     My personal choice for a small shop dust collection system was a Torit Vibra-Shake 3000 and Nordfab Quick-Fit ducting. Three main reasons drove my purchase.
 
     1. The system had more than adequate exhaust capacity (CFM) even for my most demanding needs, like shaping AK foam covers
     2. The dust collector filters exhaust air back into the shop through a pleated micron HEPA style cartridge filter and not a leak prone fabric bag. This eliminates most secondary sources of unwanted dust contamination, especially with super fine carbon fiber dust.
     3. Ease of installation and an engineered system of safe leak free duct work
 
     Proper dust collection really is serious business. Besides having adequate CFM and air flow velocity, all ducting systems should be designed or at least approved by a dust collection professional. Dust particles are hazardous and can be highly explosive. Often times shops mistakenly choose to install plastic PVC pipe. They do this because it is cheap, readily available, and provides relative ease of installation, but it has a serious down side. Plastic exhaust pipe can generate dangerous high voltage static charge. These charges are produced by friction from the fast moving dust particles as they carried through the pipe itself. Without the proper grounding system in place, these static charges can build and discharge unpredictably creating a lethal dust explosion.
 
     There are also carcinogens that we do grind on a regular basis such as stainless steel and yes, even lowly wood dust. These materials can cause cancer by direct inhalation but over time will effectively contaminate the entire work area. It sounds like everyone should be wearing approved respirators at all times while working in your shop area, until a proper dust collection system is installed. An appropriate dust collector not only creates an overall safer cleaner shop, I believe it produces a more conducive work environment as well.
 
     I know this probably isn't the practical information you were hoping to hear, but it is time for employers and employees to start taking this particular health issue seriously. Employers should value and respect their highly trained employees enough to provide them with an environment which will protect their long term health. Please don't continue to gamble with your health, as long term exposure to dust laden environments is inevitably detrimental.
 
     One last thought, because you seem to be more sensitive to this particular type of irritant, from a practical standpoint you may be at greater risk in some capacity. A possible analogy is the person who sunburns more readily and is therefore more likely over time to develop skin cancer unless proper precautionary measures are taken.
 
     I hope this email has provided you with some helpful information and will serve as both a warning and an encouragement. I truly believe the only realistic alternative is a dust collection system with the ability to effectively eliminate and contain all of the harmful ground contaminates.
 
Sincerely and with my best professional regards,
 
Kim L. Ruhl CPO/LPO
 
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Try contacting SPT the carbon supply company, they have some barrier
creams/lotion that may help.
 
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We have moved back to fiberglass and epoxy resin and only carbon in
places we will not grind. I don't have the specific type of glass or
resin, the techs would if you want that. Carbon does bad things to
your lungs.

Pat
 
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Hi Meg,

I scrub my arms with green scouring pads as soon as i'm done grinding. Oh, and i stopped wearing puffy sleeved pirate shirts when grinding.

Jeff McDonald CP BOCP

 
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Anyway, the best thing I've seen people do when grinding carbon fiber is to use cotton stockinette which they slide up the length of their arm & forearm. This shouldn't present too much material for the trautman to potentially catch onto. I remember you telling me about your awful experience with the trautman, so you are keenly aware of watching out for long sleeves. The stockinette should stay nice and snug against your skin and tends to block most of the carbon fiber. Hope this helps. Take care!
   ---Richard

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Our techs (when I lived in CT) used to suit up in those white tyvek suits you can easily buy through lab supply, inluding hooding. To keep the sleeves out of the way, they pulled cotton stockinette over the sleeves so the sleeves stayed tight to their arms. This seemed to solve the scary aspect of loose sleeves catching in a trautman. It goes without saying that a respirator mask was used as well and the ventilation which was then a blow/ negative pressure to to one side of the room collection system was used.

Good luck.

Jennifer Lee, CPO
Denver, CO

 
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Meg,

My technician pulls his gloves up over the outside of his lab coat, then
tapes the edges down onto the coat. No dust entry, and no loose sleeves.
Hope this is helpful,

Geoff Hall CP

 
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Meg Sligar, CP/L