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Dealing With Dust in Ceramics

Indoor air pollution of all types is considered one of the most important health hazards of our time. The dramatic rise in the incidence of Asthma is said to be evidence of this. Ceramic arts, crafts, production and lab testing can generate significant dust if it is not managed properly. Ceramic educational programs can come under scrutiny because of dust concerns. Here are suggestions to reduce your exposure and make your workplace safe.

Common Sense

Did You Know?

Good Habits

Workarea Improvements

Other Suggestions:

Success? Gauge your progress by turning out the lights and shining a strong flashlight across the room. Or by how many times your air quality monitor triggers.


By Tony Hansen
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Related Information

Chronic exposure to this causes silicosis


It is high-level exposure to this kind of dust for many years without adequate protection that causes silicosis. The levels of dust in a typical well-maintained and clean pottery studio come nowhere close to this.

A material storage rack


This material storage area employs a rack to keep pails off the floor so the area can be hosed down easily. The materials in each pail are sealed in plastic bags or the pail is covered with a lid.

A practical dust box may be better than a dust hood


A dust removal box

An example of a custom-made dust collection hood in our repackaging and lab recipe mixing area. The slots along the front suck particles into the duct directly away from the operator's face. Suction comes from a centrifugal exhaust fan downstream where the pipe exits the building, it is driven by a 3/4hp motor (these fans are best at sucking, not blowing, so they need to be located at the exit). About 40 feet of 8-inch heating pipe connects from the hood to a fitting that expands to 12 inches going into the fan. The sliding damper above the hood enables stopping all airflow (to prevent heat loss during cold days). Notice it is located above the scale and heat sealer where most dust is generated during weighing and packaging.

N95 Particulate Respirator mask


This designation is an international standard for a general purpose respirator to filter out respirable quartz particles (which cause silicosis). Use one of these when working in a area where ventilation is insufficient to remove all of the dust. Use it also in circumstances where there is temporary generation of large quantities of dust. Do not wear this as a substitute for keeping floors and working areas clean.

Links

Materials Silica
Silica, sold as a white powder, is pure quartz mineral. Quartz is pure SiO2 silicon dioxide. It is the most abundant mineral on earth and most used in ceramics.
Materials Ball Clay
A fine particled highly plastic secondary clay used mainly to impart plasticity to clay and porcelain bodies and to suspend glaze, slips and engobe slurries.
Glossary Powder Processing
An entire industry is dedicated to the science, materials and equipment associated with the handling of powders.
Minerals Quartz
Quartz is the most abundant mineral on earth, it is the main crystalline mineral form of silica (SiO
URLs https://www.amazon.ca/ABEST-Portable-Airbrush-Painting-Extension/dp/B01HZ1HDF6
Portable airbrush spray booth on Amazon
URLs https://www.amazon.ca/Quality-Monitor-Detector-Readings-Pollution/dp/B08M6F57PN
Air quality monitoring device on Amazon
URLs https://www.consumernotice.org/environmental/silica-dust/
Silica Dust information from consumernotice.org, a site created by legal professionals, accomplished medical providers, product safety specialists and patient advocates.

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