Fine Dust Creation during Hardwood Machine Sanding

Abstract

Wood dust generated during woodworking—particularly from hardwood species during sanding—poses a health and safety hazard to workers in the wood industry. This study aimed to determine the particle-size distribution of selected hardwood species and the content of fine particles in dust created during machine sanding, which pose the highest health and safety hazards in the woodworking industry. Six hardwood species were studied: black alder, European ash, common walnut, pedunculate oak, hornbeam, and European beech. The sieve analysis method was used to determine the particle-size distribution and article mean arithmetic particle diameter, and laser diffraction analysis was used to determine the finest particle content. Two size ranges were assumed: <2.5 μm and <10 μm. Beech dust had the smallest mean particle diameter. Dust from wood species used in the test had similar contents of fine fractions of particles. The average content of particles smaller than 2.5 µm in wood dust from the tested hardwood species did not exceed 1.9%. In terms of occupational exposure to wood dust, machine sanding conditions of hardwoods should be properly adjusted to limit the formation of large amounts of dust.