Page 38 - Australasian Paint & Panel Magazine Jan-Feb 21
P. 38
PRODUCT FOCUS
38
PAINT&PANEL JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2021
39 SANDING • 46 DUST AND FUME EXTRACTION • 48 MIXED MATERIAL REPAIR
DON’T SAND YOUR LIFE AWAY
GARY WILCOX FROM OH&S COMPLIANCE SYSTEM MONIT TALKS SANDING SENSE.
O
NE OF THE MOST COMMON HAZ-
ards in a panel shop is dust,
and although body filler is the main culprit there is also plenty of putty vapour which has hard-
ened and become airborne dust particles. When sanding, sweeping, using com- pressed air to blow off dusty cars or clothes or using a portable fan in the
shop dust becomes an airborne hazard. Regardless of the origin of the dust, all fillers contain toxic chemicals which pose a serious hazard to not only our own body but those of our children or
future children.
Reading a Safety Data Sheet on dust
caused by fillers reads like a horror sto- ry which many shop owners and work- ers would be wise to read.
The old macho work practice of not wearing a respirator will come back and bite you. I left the trade almost 30 years ago yet this persistent cough caused from sanding filler without dust extraction or proper PPE stays with me.
Most fillers contain Oxirane, Poly- mer with Methyloxirane, Monobutyl Ether and Styrene.
Exposure greater than two weeks to any of these chemicals is enough to cause damage to the kidneys, bladder, respiratory system, liver, nervous sys- tem and heart. As well as being a seri- ous eye irritation filler dust is known to damage fertility or an unborn child’s development and if that’s not enough it is also a carcinogen.
SANDPAPER HAZARDS
There is also another hazard when sand- ing fillers and that is the sandpaper it- self. Titanium Dioxide sandpaper puts tiny particles in the air which when in- haled is a known carcinogen and Alu- minium Oxide paper uses Formaldehyde resins which when airborne may cause lung damage (fibrosis) with symptoms of coughing, shortness of breath and di- minishing breath capacity.
Of course, all these hazards can be avoided if a shop implements a couple of things.
Firstly, make sure all tools and equip- ment used for sanding have built in dust extraction and are connected to a porta- ble or fixed vacuum system.
Rotary/orbital and straight line/re-
