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Sandblast hazard

Hand Lettering topics: Sign Making, Design, Fabrication, Letterheads, Sign Books.

Moderators: Ron Percell, Mike Jackson, Danny Baronian

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Robert Schwieger
Posts: 123
Joined: Wed Feb 07, 2007 12:38 pm
Location: Nebraska

Sandblast hazard

Post by Robert Schwieger »

Yikes! Saw an item on the web regarding the hazardous practice of using sand to blast surfaces presumably also including glass prior to glue chipping. The warning included the risk of silicosis regardless of measures taken to prevent inhalation, namely respirator and an enclosed blasting cabinet. Need some advice here and appreciate same. Thank you.

Bob
Mike Jackson
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Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2004 11:02 pm
Location: Jackson Hole, WY
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Post by Mike Jackson »

Robert, do a seacrh on the topic on Google. You will find all the info you might ever need.

Here's just one link:
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/silfact1.html

If you purchased any kind of sandblast pot, it should have been accompanied by a safety sheet.

In short, you need special breathing hoods with filtered air to be reasonably safe.

Even then, the simple act of filling a sandblast pot might put enough airborn particles to be dangerious.

Some people perfer to sandblast glass with silicon carbide or aluminum oxide instead of silica sand.
The heavier media doesn't break down into a fine powder as easily.

Good luck,
M. Jackson
Mike Jackson / co-administrator
Golden Era Studios
Vintage Ornamental Clip art
Jackson Hole, WY

Photography site:
Teton Images
Jackson Hole photography blog:
Best of the Tetons
James Warwick
Posts: 43
Joined: Sun Mar 18, 2007 1:19 am

Breathing Sand Dust and ect.....

Post by James Warwick »

Wow.. Thanks for the tip !!
I never knew how extremely dangerous sand is to humans.
KEEP YOUR KIDS AND CATS OUT OF THE SAND BOX !!!
Also..
NEVER burn anything before you check it for lead paint !!
If you have a house fire. Call HAZMET right away because of possible airborne lead and lead contamination.
NEVER tell anybody about breaking a fluorescent tube light bulb or one of the new compact light bulb. Your property could be condemed until the mercury is professionally cleaned up.
Do you ever put a lead pencil or paint brush in your mouth ? Does the paint on them contain lead ?
We all should be careful but little common sense go a long way.........
Robert Schwieger
Posts: 123
Joined: Wed Feb 07, 2007 12:38 pm
Location: Nebraska

Post by Robert Schwieger »

Hello Mike,

Thanks for the information. I have been using aluminum oxide. Did I read your note correctly that the aluminum oxide is heavier than the silica therefore it is the better choice?

Bob
Mike Jackson
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Location: Jackson Hole, WY
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Post by Mike Jackson »

Robert,
Silica sand breaks up when it hits the glass at high speed, creating a very fine cloud of airborn silica dust. The glass itself will contribute to the issue with additional amounts of airborn glass particles. As far as I know, both aluminum oxide and silicon carbide are less prone to breaking down. They are often used and reused in glass etching chambers for that reason. Without the breakdown, the main worry is the airborn silica from the glass itself.

Between the two, Rick suggested silicon carbide over aluminum oxide because the aluminum oxide left a very thin layer of aluminum on the glass. That wasn't much of a problem until you silvered the glass, at which point it would turn the silver black. To solve the problem, he suggested washing the glass with a lye concentrate to remove the aluminum residue.

Safety first!
Mike Jackson
Mike Jackson / co-administrator
Golden Era Studios
Vintage Ornamental Clip art
Jackson Hole, WY

Photography site:
Teton Images
Jackson Hole photography blog:
Best of the Tetons
Kent Smith
Posts: 569
Joined: Fri Dec 31, 2004 6:41 pm
Location: Estes Park, CO
Contact:

silica

Post by Kent Smith »

My hood came with fine particle dust masks similar to surgical masks with the insturctions saying not for prolonged use, 1 hour or more. NIOSH considers this to be suffiecient protection only for occaisional use. This is much the same category for the use of cartidge masks for spray painting. All regulators and safety experts are pushing oxygen supplied respiration because it is just better, period.

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilikovalkanoconiosis (spelled from memory, can't find the paper it is written on) is a lung ailment atributed to fine particle sediment such as silica, ash, coal powder and oddly, house dust. The word itelf (longer than antidisestablishmentarianism) is enough to scare one into wearing proper respiration protection.
Larry White
Posts: 1213
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2004 4:18 am

Post by Larry White »

I found this short article about Delamar in one of my ghost town books. Delamar was old mining
town in Nevada, that was plagued by Silicosis deaths.

Image

You can also read Wikipedias, Story on Delamar and see pictures of Delamar today at these links.

Those pictures give ya a hankerin' to get out in the blue sky.

I'm thinking about getting out of the darn sandblasting business...

-WB
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