Wood Dust Exposure: Haztek

Wood dust

What you need to know aboout wood dust exposure

Wood dust can cause serious health problems. It can cause asthma, carpenters and joiners are four times more likely to get asthma compared with other workers. Work Health and Safety Legislation require that you protect workers from the hazards of wood dust.

Hardwood dust can cause cancer, particularly of the nose.

Settled dust contains the fine particles that are most likely to damage the lungs.

What you need to do to control wood dust exposure

Exposure limits for wood dust

Safework Australia have set exposure standards for hardwood (1mg/m³) and softwood (5mg/m³), these exposure standards must not be exceeded. These are limits placed on the amount of dust in the air, averaged over an eight-hour working day. However, you must reduce exposure to wood dust to as low as ‘reasonably practicable’.

Implement Control Measures for wood dust

Extraction for wood dust

Provide dust extraction (also known as local exhaust ventilation or LEV) at woodworking machines to capture and remove dust before it can spread.

Design the extraction system to take into account:

the number and type of machines to be connected to it, the ones that are used together and the layout of the workshop or factory. This information should be supplied by the user.
the machine manufacturer’s information or an experienced body’s information on required air flow and extraction vacuum for each extraction connection for each machine.

Educate workers about the risks from wood dust and the control measures required. They should know how to use the extraction properly. Fitting air flow indicators will help, as these will show them if it is working correctly, for example if dampers are open or shut and also if maintenance is required.

Keep the extraction system properly maintained and working correctly (it is a legal requirement to have it examined every year). Follow the extraction manufacturer’s guidance for maintenance requirements.

Sweeping Wood Dust and Compressed Air

Never sweep up or use compressed air lines as this will disturb the dust and allow it to become inhaled. Always clean up using a suitable vacuum cleaner with HEPA filters, or a vacuum attached to the extraction system.

Respiratory Protection for wood dust

For very dusty jobs such as sanding, additional protection may be needed and a suitable face mask should be worn as well as using the extraction.

Where you need to use RPE you should:

select the right mask and cartridge
ensure it fits properly by having it face fitted, and by being clean shaven
look after it / change it regularly in accordance with the manufacturers’ instructions

Health surveillance for wood workers

Because wood dust causes asthma any health effects must be picked up early. This can be done using health surveillance].

For most woods, low level health surveillance will do. When someone first starts in a job where they are exposed to wood dust they should fill in a questionnaire.

After six weeks they should then complete a follow up questionnaire and this should then be repeated every year.

These questionnaires tell you what to do if you think someone has been affected.

A higher level of health surveillance, including lung function testing, is needed for exposures to woods such as western red cedar which are a known asthma causing agent.

For detailed advice on assessment and specific control measures for your workplace contact our consultants.

For further information on workplace monitoring, testing and assessment click here.

Wood Dust Exposure