Tulane Wood Dust Study - "wood dust is bad for you" is a lie?

[Frank Hagan]

Matt,
I presently work in the Industrial Health and Safety field as a product manager. Part of my job is to recommend instrumention that is used to measure things like airborne particulate matter so I read the report with great interest. The way I read it the study realy had to do with are the allowable levels of airborne particulate safe or do the need to be changed. The industry standard today for a worker 8 hour exposure is set at 5 mg/m3. There was some talk of lowering the standard to 1 mg/m3. this would cost the industry about $1B/year to achieve. What the Tulane study said was that the present limit is safe.

I am fuzzy on the conversion, but isn't that less than a teaspoon of wood dust per square yard?

[Don Baer]

I am fuzzy on the conversion, but isn't that less than a teaspoon of wood dust per square yard?

Thats less then a teaspoon per cubic yard. When I demonstart how a particulate monitor work I tear a piece of notebook paper in half near the instrument and it produces more dust then that. Remember this is the average amount of dust over an 8 hour shift.

[Lee DeRaud]

Thats less then a teaspoon per cubic yard. When I demonstart how a particulate monitor work I tear a piece of notebook paper in half near the instrument and it produces more dust then that. Remember this is the average amount of dust over an 8 hour shift.

It might be interesting to know what the "background" count is, especially in an area as dusty as the L.A. basin.

[Don Baer]

It might be interesting to know what the "background" count is, especially in an area as dusty as the L.A. basin.

Lee I've measured several places in the LA Basin and typicaly around the OC it run 30-50 ug/m3 (micro grams). During Santa Anna's it can go as high as 100-200 mg/m3 and once when there was a fire buring close to my house I measured 850 mg/m3

[Lee DeRaud]

Lee I've measured several places in the LA Basin and typicaly around the OC it run 30-50 ug/m3 (micro grams). During Santa Anna's it can go as high as 100-200 mg/m3 and once when there was a fire buring close to my house I measured 850 mg/m3

Kinda what I figured, although I'm a little surprised by that overall range: four orders of magnitude?!?

I also suspect that "typical OC" figure is way low for where I am: 1/2 mile from the Santa Ana "river" (AKA "Silt Central")...might as well be in Corona as far as dust is concerned.

[Howard Acheson]

Chris, I don't believe that the study tested for allergies or sensitivities. They were interested in actually illnesses.

I am vaguely aware on one study that indicated that dust was a possible carcinigen for a rare form of nasal cancer. The same study, as I recall, found not illnesses of the lungs from wood dust. I think I saw the study on an OHSA site.

[Michael Disorbo]

I owe wood dust a big favor. A few years back while working with hickory, I got a real bad lung infection. I use a DC and at the time was doing a lot of sanding with a downdraft table. That lung infection led me to quit smoking and really fast. Still can't breath well, but doctors say that both culprits played a role in my lung damage. I am sure the smoking did the most damage and if I would have never got the lung infection from the hickory I would still be smoking. Another wood that is real bad on the lungs is walnut. Like the other thread said WEAR A MASK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Michael

[Brett Baldwin]

Just another thing to consider about this study...what type of wood were these plants working with? Woodworkers that make furniture and projects are probably exposed to more exotic woods than many plant/mill workers ever will be and some of those exotics are notably more toxic than say pine or oak. Just something that occured to me as I was reading this.

[Ellen Benkin]

Common sense will tell you that getting any "foreign" particles in your lungs cannot be good for you, even if the particles by themselves are not carcinogenic. Wear a mask.

[Andy Fox]

Let's not forget that dust can be a nearly silent killer (like tobacco smoke) that we don't really notice, other than maybe an annoying cough.

From: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/...pd_WhatIs.html

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a lung disease in which the lungs are damaged, making it hard to breathe. In COPD, the airways—the tubes that carry air in and out of your lungs—are partly obstructed, making it difficult to get air in and out.

Cigarette smoking is the most common cause of COPD. Most people with COPD are smokers or former smokers. Breathing in other kinds of lung irritants, like pollution, dust, or chemicals, over a long period of time may also cause or contribute to COPD.

...

COPD is a major cause of death and illness, and it is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States and throughout the world.

[Earl Kelly]

I think most are missing the point of the testing. It was to determine if the current OSHA requirements are safe enough or are more stringent standards needed. Which I believe would be 2-3 times more stringent. Granted most OSHA compliant factories have much better dust collection than small shops and home workshops, so comparing the two is not practical. Main thing is take care of yourself, and not read too much into the study.

[Don Baer]

I think most are missing the point of the testing. It was to determine if the current OSHA requirements are safe enough or are more stringent standards needed.

Actually they Osha spec proposed changed was from 5mg/m3 to 1mg/m3 and that for everthing excet western red Ceder which is .5mg/m3.

Granted most OSHA compliant factories have much better dust collection than small shops and home workshops, so comparing the two is not practical. Main thing is take care of yourself, and not read too much into the study.

That is correct and also the large factories I have seen don't return the air back to the shop they exaust it outside and use clean makeup air from a source hopefully not close to the chip bins..while many wood worker have enclosed shops or work out of there basements.


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[Earl Kelly]

Actually they Osha spec proposed changed was from 5mg/m3 to 1mg/m3 and that for everthing excet western red Ceder which is .5mg/m3.

Don, is that the specs OSHA was wanting to change to? If so, quite a magnitude of change, to lower the allowable dust to 1/5th the present standards.

[Bob Aliano]

I like to understand who paid for the studies, how they were conducted and exactly what was studied when I see results that contradict widespread beliefs. I might be cynical but I've seen a lot of these studies that produce results suspiciously convenient to the sponsors.

[Don Baer]

Actually they Osha spec proposed changed was from 5mg/m3 to 1mg/m3 and that for everthing excet western red Ceder which is .5mg/m3.

Don, is that the specs OSHA was wanting to change to? If so, quite a magnitude of change, to lower the allowable dust to 1/5th the present standards.

Yes Earl that was the proposed change based on the recommendations of the American Council of Goverment and Industrial Hygenists.