Vince Pitelka on tue 10 may 05
> Truthfully a mop ,bucket and wet sponge used every day in the studio will
> do more for your breathing then a filter blowing air around to assure the
> nasties stay suspended for you to breath.
I have to second Kenneth Westfall's advice above. Gail from Alaska had
asked about a better air filtration system for her studio. As I said in an
earlier post, I worry about those systems unless they are truly designed and
rated for ceramic studio use, such as the Bailey HEPA system. Other systems
including the electrostatic systems are fine for wood shops and other
environments where the dust is fairly coarse. As someone else alread
posted, the non-HEPA systems do not remove the finest fraction of particles,
and as I posted, the finest silica particles are the most dangerous. The
healthy lung can expel the coarser particles, but it builds scar tissue
nodules around the finer particles, and with sufficient exposure, the
eventual result is silicosis. If you have any dust in your studio, the air
filtration systems create air currents that are likely to move that dust
around.
Think of it this way. The whole idea of having an air filter is to remove
the dust that is floating around in the air, so that pretty much
acknowledges that there IS dust floating around in the air. Except that the
non-HEPA system does not remove the finest particles, so it just sends them
on out into the studio atmosphere, where they remain airborne for a long
time because of their fineness. So they are there for you to breathe. So
what does the system accomplish? If you follow Kenneth's advice and wet mop
and wet sponge the studio surfaces regularly, then you drastically reduce
the level of airborne dust.
Bailey makes two studio air filtration systems that are HEPA rated - one
that accommodates a 4000-square-foot studio ($1000), and one for a 9000
square-foot space ($1500). But if you are going to install this system, be
prepared to spend $200 to $300 PER YEAR in replacement filters. If you fail
to replace all the filters according to the recommended schedule, the HEPA
filter will clog and the system will quickly be rendered useless.
Here's the basic challenge - the finer the filter mesh, the more it
restricts air movement. A HEPA-rated vacuum cleaner works because it has a
very powerful motor that produces a strong suction, effectively pulling the
air through a fairly small and inexpensive HEPA filter. In contrast, a
studio air filtration system is designed to be quiet and unobtrusive, and
thus the air movement is gentle. The only way that it can work is with
complex and expensive V-fold filter elements that cause only minimal air
restriction, and the filters must be replaced frequently in order to
maintain the free flow of air through the filter system.
We all need to be vigilant and work towards proper lung care, but I hate to
see anyone operating under the illusion that they are protecting their lungs
when they might in fact be contributing to the problem. If you want to get
a studio air filtration system, make SURE that it will handle the size
studio you have, make sure it is installed just below the ceiling as the
manufacturer recommends, and make sure you change all of the filter elements
as often as the manufacturer suggests.
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft, Tennessee Technological University
Smithville TN 37166, 615/597-6801 x111
vpitelka@dtccom.net, wpitelka@tntech.edu
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
http://www.tntech.edu/craftcenter/
Jonathan Kaplan on tue 10 may 05
There has been very good discussion on these subjects for as long as I
have been on the list.
There is always a basic "common sense" approach that I am sure many
ascribe to but when it comes to one's health, "common sense" is way to
subjective. I would offer some suggestions to add to what others have
posted.
HEPA filters are fine on any dust collection equipment. They work and
work very well but the downside is that they are indeed expensive. I
would however posit that one's pulmonary health far outweighs whatever
cost it may be. This is a no brainer.
Wet mopping and constant attention to cleaning is always a positive
thing.
We have a number of dust devices in our shop.
In the glaze and spray booth area is ceiling mounted dual speed air
cleaner. This helps but the best protection is personal dust protection
with those great products from Lab Safety. I have a full face dust mask
with a really good lens system that provides almost perfect vision
protection as well as cartridge dust filtration. Seals very well around
my beard and eyeglasses. About $200 and well worth it.
We have a Torit cabinet dust collection system and duct work that goes
to our slip mixing tanks as well as to our horizontal pre-pug machine.
There are also ducts that go to our band saw and tale saw. Each has
it's own blast gate so we can isolate what we need to when we are using
a specific machine.
We also have a Torit downdraft bench that we clean greenware on.
We also have a Nilfisk GS-80 vacuum cleaner with 2 stage filtration and
it has been a real workhorse for many years.
Our staff all have their own dust masks,eye and ear protection, and
every one has access to really good disposable paper dust mask when
needed.
Respectfully,
Jonathan
Jonathan Kaplan
Ceramic Design Group
PO Box 775112
Steamboat Springs CO 80477
(970) 879-9139
(please use this address for all USPS deliveries)
Plant Location:
1280 13th Street Suite K
Steamboat Springs CO 80487
(please use this address for all UPS, courier, and common carrier
deliveries only!!)
info@ceramicdesigngroup.net
www.ceramicdesigngroup.net
terry sullivan on wed 11 may 05
One obvious way to handle the filtration problem is to vent all the
exhaust air outside the studio.
I know that this is not always the best way if the studio must be
heated and you don't want all that heated air exhausted outside. But it
works very well when the weather is warm.
For instance: my wood shop has a cyclone dust collection system
mounted outside the shop. It removes all the air every few minutes from
the shop, collects the larger, heavy stuff in a bin, and exhausts the
fine particulates outside into the air. So I don't have to worry about
the sub 3 micron stuff being filtered because it is all exhausted
outside. It is the sub 3 micron stuff that does the damage.
In cooler months one can use the HEPA filter systems and save all that
heated air for the shop/studio.
But in the warmer months just send all that air outside ware it will
just blow away.
Even with all that filtration; you can use filtration masks when dealing
with stuff like clay or wood work.
Also, you can open up the studio and add fans to remove the air. Once
done with glaze / clay mixing and the air has been cleared; take off
the mask and get on with your work.. Wet clay is not a problem.
Terry Sullivan
Nottingham Arts
San Marcos,CA
Personal reply to: go2tms@cox.net
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