Basically, dust is made up of small, airborne particles of matter which are found in the air and covering the surface of objects.
There is a difference between dust and fumes. The main being that fumes are airborne whereas dusts need not be suspended in the air. Most particles are too small to be seen but they can be breathed in through the nose and mouth. When we inhale dust, the majority will be filtered out in the nasal passages, however, very fine dust is able to travel to our lungs and into other organs of the body. Fine dust also stays in the air for much longer.
Across many industries, the use of machinery produces fumes which can cause serious health problems and potential fire and explosion hazards. For example drilling, cutting, milling or grinding are all elements so companies must have a system that removes these fumes from the working environment. Without proper dust extraction and dust control, a company could be exposing employees to potentially harmful dust, particulates, and other contaminants in the air.
So, put bluntly, dust collectors are essential to improve air quality, and when used in conjunction with an air cleaner, they result in clean, healthy air in virtually any pretty much any working condition. Apart from airborne dust being harmful, the resulting waste needs to be disposed of carefully.
Efficient dust extraction ensures that you protect your health and that of your employees, creating a safer working environment, reducing risks and even helping machinery to work more efficiently. By capturing, conveying and filtering dust, dust extraction improves air quality by removing potentially harmful particulates such as wood dust from the air.
An extremely effective way of controlling dust is through a Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) system, comprising of ducting, filter and fanset. Dust is captured by means of hoods which are placed around the application. Airflow, induced into the hoods by the fanset then carries the dust through ducting to the filter which removes the dust from the air.
One LEV system can provide dust extraction for multiple machines. Getting the right LEV system for your workplace is paramount and it must be maintained every 14 months.
