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| Solution: Wood Floor Sanders with Vacuum Dust Control | |
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| Description: |
Vacuum dust control for wood floor sanders is an engineering control that can reduce exposure to wood dust. Wood floor sanders with vacuum dust control are large machines with a rotating sanding drum or random orbiting sanding disks that are enclosed to allow for the removal of dust created by the sanding process. Air is drawn from the floor and the sanding drum or disks and into the dust port within the machine by an internal fan and a vacuum attachment, capturing dust near the point of generation. The wood dust is then collected and removed from the work environment, reducing the concentration in the worker's breathing zone and the opportunity for skin contact. Cyclonic pre-separators, either as an integral part of the vacuum or as a separate unit, should be used to collect the majority of the particles before they reach the filters. A cyclonic pre-separator spins the air and dust, forcing particles to the outside of a cone-shaped vessel and then down into a bag, hopper or vacuum hose. Use of a cyclonic pre-separator reduces the amount of dust that collects on the filter, which increases the useful life of expensive filters and helps to maintain the vacuum’s initial airflow rate. A wood dust capture and control system is recommended by OSHA and is commonly used in the form of a vacuum dust collector, which allows for the safe removal of most airborne dust particles generated by sanding. Using a vacuum with filters, instead of a dust bag, greatly reduces the risk to operators and other workers on a site.
Bona Belt Wood Floor Sander
Bona Portable Dust Collection System
 The Bona Portable DCS uses a cyclonic separator and a HEPA filter.
Oneida-Bona Universal Retrofit Handle
The Oneida handle installs on the Bona sander and attaches to a Vortex vacuum (shown below). Using the airflow provided by the sander, the dust-laden air is passed through the cyclone on the handle, removing the majority of wood dust, before passing through the handle’s HEPA filter. The Vortex vacuum pulls the dust captured by the cyclone through a hose to the remote cyclonic separator where the dust is collected in a waste container. The air is passed through a HEPA filter at the vacuum before being exhausted.
Kunzle and Tasin Taurus Wood Floor Sander 
For other Kunzle and Tasin wood floor sanders visit http://www.kunzletasin.com/en/prodotti.prodotti.sanding-professional-sanders-and-edgers.liv01.liv138.htm.
Oneida-Kunzle and Tasin Retrofit Handle
The Oneida handle installs on the Kunzle and Tasin Taurus sander and attaches to a Vortex vacuum (shown below). Using the airflow provided by the sander, the dust-laden air is passed through the cyclone on the handle, removing the majority of wood dust, before passing through the handle’s HEPA filter. The Vortex vacuum pulls the dust captured by the cyclone through a hose to the remote cyclonic separator where the dust is collected in a waste container. The air is passed through a HEPA filter at the vacuum before being exhausted.
Clarke EZ-8 Wood Floor Sander
Oneida-Clarke Retrofit Handle
The Oneida handle installs on the Clarke EZ-8 sander and attaches to a Vortex vacuum (shown below). Using the airflow provided by the sander, the dust-laden air is passed through the cyclone on the handle, removing the majority of wood dust, before passing through the handle’s HEPA filter. The Vortex vacuum pulls the dust captured by the cyclone through a hose to the remote cyclonic separator where the dust is collected in a waste container. The air is passed through a HEPA filter at the vacuum before being exhausted.
Cherry Hill Super Bee Wood Floor Sander
The Cherry Hill floor sander uses 4 circular sanding pads.
Oneida-Cherry Hill Retrofit Handle 
The Oneida handle installs on the Super Bee sander and attaches to a Vortex vacuum (shown below). Using the airflow provided by the sander, the dust-laden air is passed through the cyclone on the handle, removing the majority of wood dust, before passing through the handle’s HEPA filter. The Vortex vacuum pulls the dust captured by the cyclone through a hose to the remote cyclonic separator where the dust is collected in a waste container. The air is passed through a HEPA filter at the vacuum before being exhausted.
Lagler Hummel Wood Floor Sander
Oneida-Lagler Hummel Retrofit Handle
The Oneida handle installs on the Hummel sander and attaches to a Vortex vacuum (shown below). Using the airflow provided by the sander, the dust-laden air is passed through the cyclone on the handle, removing the majority of wood dust, before passing through the handle’s HEPA filter. The Vortex vacuum pulls the dust captured by the cyclone through a hose to the remote cyclonic separator where the dust is collected in a waste container. The air is passed through a HEPA filter at the vacuum before being exhausted.
Oneida Vortex Dust Collection Systems
The Vortex dust collectors attach to any retrofit handles from Oneida. Using the airflow provided by the sander, the dust-laden air is passed through the cyclone on the handle, removing the majority of wood dust, before passing through the handle’s HEPA filter. The Vortex vacuum pulls the dust captured by the cyclone through a hose to the remote cyclonic separator where the dust is collected in a waste container. The air is passed through a HEPA filter at the vacuum before being exhausted.
*Approximate airflow rate were provided by the manufacturer but are not published
(verified 6/2011)
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| Risks Addressed: |
Exposure to wood dust in the workplace has several associated hazards. Wood dust irritates the eyes, nose and throat, in addition to leading to pulmonary function impairment. Western red cedar dust is considered a human carcinogen and has also been shown to cause asthma. Significant accumulation of fine wood dust particles can also be a fire and explosion hazard in the workplace.
The woodworking industry creates significant amounts of wood dust. The dust generated from saws, sanders, routers, etc. is generally not controlled, and workers exposed to wood dusts have experienced a variety of adverse health effects such as eye and skin irritation, allergies, reduced lung function, asthma, and nasal cancer. Excessive amounts of dust can also reduce visibility within the work area creating hazardous conditions for not only the worker, but also others within the work environment. By using dust control methods, exposure can be significantly reduced. For example, sanding is one of the largest producers of dust, but with the use of controls, the inhalable fraction of wood dust emissions was reduced by 66 to 98% (NTP, 2000).
Spee et al. performed task-based monitoring of 26 carpenters at 13 building projects to measure exposure to wood dust. Eight hour time-weighted average (TWA) exposures to wood dust ranged from 0.8 to 11.6 times the occupational exposure limit (0.8 to 11.6 milligrams of wood dust per cubic meter of air, mg/m3, with a geometric mean of 3.3 mg/m3 and a geometric standard deviation of 2.1).
Numerous studies in various countries have addressed whether Hodgkin’s Disease (HD) is linked to wood dust exposures. Studies involving those who have already died from the disease, those who currently have the disease and woodworkers who were believed to be at risk of getting the disease were conducted. No study included sufficient information to find a correlation between length of employment, type of position, exposure to certain products, or contact with chemical agents that may be used in woodworking and HD. These investigations have shown that those with the greatest risk are among the carpentry and lumbering occupations. Researchers looked at twelve studies and five yielded statistically significant relationships between woodworking and Hodgkin’s disease (McCunney, 1999).
The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) published a Threshold Limit Value (TLV) of 1 mg/m3 for wood dust, excluding western red cedar. The TLV for western red cedar is 0.5 mg/m3. Oak and beech wood dust have been confirmed as human carcinogens and birch, mahogany, teak, and walnut are classified as suspected human carcinogens (ACGIH, 2011).
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| How Risks are Reduced: |
Wood floor sanders with vacuum dust control are machines with a rotating sanding drum or random orbiting sanding disks that are enclosed to allow for the removal of dust created by the sanding process. Air is drawn from the floor and the sanding drum or disk and into the dust port within the machine by an internal fan and a vacuum attachment, capturing dust near the point of generation. The wood dust is then collected and removed from the work environment, reducing the concentration in the worker's breathing zone and the opportunity for skin contact. |
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| Quality of Evidence (Risk Reduction): |
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| Quality of Evidence Explanation (Risk Reduction): |
Dust collection techniques will visibly reduce airborne particulate matter and significantly reduce the small, inhalable particles that cause respiratory problems. Although exposure is not reduced to zero, substantial reduction has been documented. This is dependent on the amount of air flow through the machine, the distance between the sanding surface and the port within the sander, how effectively the collector removes particles from the air, the nature and amount of work and the extent to which workers are exposed to particles that are not captured. While published sampling data on these specific tools are not available, evidence indicates exposure to inhalable wood dust can be significantly reduced through the use of dust extraction methods.
In a study of dust extraction systems for hand-held sanders, Thorpe found that “the use of a filter bag resulted in large decreases in dust concentration when flat wood was sanded (typically 85% reduction) for all types of sanders.” In the same study, Thorpe concluded that “Dust capture efficiencies and the reduction in dust concentrations were greater for all sanders tested when used with an external source of extraction rather than an integral filter bag” (Thorpe, 1993).
Oneida Air Systems states that air tests indicate a 100 times greater reduction in wood dust during floor sanding when using vacuum dust collection as opposed to cloth dust bags (Oneida, 2011).
The results of two cross sectional studies in the furniture industry indicated that “The following determinants of exposure were found to ‘decrease’ dust concentration: manual assembling/packing; sanding with adequate exhaust ventilation; adequate exhaust ventilation; vacuum cleaning of machines and special cleaning staff.” (Schlunssen, 2008)
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| Effects on Productivity: |
Vacuum dust collectors should have a positive effect on productivity and definitely improve the quality of the work by removing large amounts of dust, which provides a cleaner environment for operators and reduces the effort and time required for clean-up. In some cases, particularly where work is intermittent or in an area with general ventilation, use of dust collectors may be adequate to reduce the need to wear a respirator, and the need for an employer’s respiratory protection program. |
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| Quality of Evidence (Effects on Productivity): |
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| Quality of Evidence Explanation (Effects on Productivity): |
Safety and health experts believe the use of vacuum dust controls will lead to an increase in productivity because they will reduce wood dust hazards and provide a cleaner work environment. |
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| Return on Investment: | To calculate the return on investment (ROI) for your specific application, please visit our Return on Investment Calculator. While a specific ROI example has not been developed for this particular solution, the ROI Calculator provides a useful tool and guidance on how to generate your own on investment analysis. | |||||||||||||||||
| Availability: |
Bona Belt Wood Floor Sander and Dust Collection System
For purchasing information, locate a dealer at http://www.bona.com/en-US/United-States1/Find-you-distributor/ or call 1-800-872-5515
Oneida Retrofit Handles and Vortex Dust Collectors
For purchasing information, email Oneida at info@oneida-air.comor call 1-800-732-4065
Kunzle and Tasin Wood Floor Sander
For purchasing information, email Kunzle and Tasin at info@ktnorthamerica.com or call 1-866-520-2629, or call US Sander at 1-866-877-2637
Clarke Wood Floor Sander
Cherry Hill Super Bee Wood Floor Sander
For purchasing information, email Cherry Hill at info@u-sand.com or call 1-800-392-8894. Visit http://www.u-sand.com/rental-location/default.aspx to find a rental location near you.
Lagler Hummel Wood Floor Sander
For purchasing information, email Lagler at info@laegler.com or call Palo Duro Hardwoods at 1-800-848-6635, or Long Floor at 1-800-678-4419
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| Additional Considerations: |
There are additional conditions and practices that can improve the performance of dust collectors and reduce dust exposure:
Large electric vacuums commonly require 20 amp electrical circuits. Cords and extensions must be rated for the tool's power requirements, be inspected regularly, replaced when damaged, and used in combination with ground fault interrupt circuits.
Some large vacuums, cyclonic separators, and exhaust ventilation blowers can be very loud. Noise levels may be high enough to cause significant hearing loss over a working lifetime. Buy quiet devices and maintain them properly. Noise exposures can be reduced by working further away from the noise source, enclosing the noise source, or using ear plugs or muffs.
As is the case with any construction equipment, users should follow manufacturer scheduled maintenance and safety recommendations and comply with any applicable regulations.
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| Hazards Addressed: |
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