Welding Trade School Programs Consider Budget and Safety

by Erin Long | Aug 22, 2019 | Uncategorized

Welding trade school programs offer students an opportunity to pursue a career in a necessary, important field. Not everyone wants or needs a college degree. Many young people want a successful career without the burden of huge student loan debt. Some people prefer to work with their hands and like a job that challenges their skills.

People have different reasons for attending a trade school program. However, they all want a quality education that prepares them for the future. They also all want to learn in a safe environment with clean air and no health hazards.

Trade school programs often struggle to balance tight budgets. Welding trade school programs need the same type of safety equipment that welders on the job need. This includes effective fume extraction. Obviously, trade schools take the safety of their students very seriously. But with shrinking budgets, some schools can’t get approval for many things, including updated weld fume extraction.

Suggestions for Welding Trade Schools

Since extra money doesn’t usually appear in school budgets, trade school programs have to think about efficiency and the best value for their money. So, here are some suggestions for getting the best fume extraction with the funds available.

• Firstly, invest in high-quality dust collector filters. Bargain filters don’t work as well, and they don’t last as long. Trade schools for welding will end up saving money by using a DeltaMAXX nanofiber filter that won’t need replacing all the time. Conversely, bargain hunting for filters may lead to wasting money on frequent replacements.
• Secondly, keep up with system maintenance. A service visit can replace worn out parts and identify problems. Without maintenance, failing parts can cause a fume extraction system to lose efficiency or break down. While welding trade schools might struggle to find the money for maintenance and replacement parts, a total system breakdown could shut things down completely.
• Finally, make sure hoods or fume arms are being used correctly. Welders, or students in welding trade school programs, often don’t use these as they should. A hood can get in the way or a fume arm might need to be adjusted often. While these fume extraction tools might be a minor inconvenience, they also keep weld fumes from escaping. Training welding trade school students to work with a hood or fume arm is good for safety and fume extraction efficiency.

Time to Invest in a New Fume Extraction System?

Eventually, any trade school for welding may have to invest in a new system for weld fume extraction. Budget limits will always be a consideration. However, money saved on a cheaper solution might be money spent on repairs when bargain parts break down.

Also, cutting corners on the quality of the fume extraction system may lead to poor performance. Welding tech school programs are responsible for the safety of students. A system that won’t remove weld fumes efficiently is not a bargain.

Worst of all, a cheap system may not have the fire and explosion protection that a weld fume extraction system needs. A fire inside the system could burn up your filters, damage the building, and require evacuation because of smoke.

How do trade school programs convince administrators to approve funding for a more expensive system when there are cheaper ones available?

Contact us at Imperial Systems Inc and let one of our dust and fume collection experts help. We have years of experience working with welding school trade programs all over the country. We can show you why CMAXX is the best long-term value for the money. Students entering welding vocational schools make an investment in their futures, and a CMAXX is an investment in the future of your program.

Learn more about welding fume extraction.

Gun Ranges Cited for Lead Dust Exposure

by Erin Long | Aug 21, 2019 | Uncategorized

Indoor shooting ranges are popular across the country. Many law enforcement professionals and private gun owners use these ranges to practice their target shooting. However, in an enclosed space like this, lead dust exposure can become a dangerous problem.

OSHA has cited gun ranges in the past for failure to control lead dust. Specifically, excessive lead dust can accumulate on surfaces and in the air. This can quickly exceed the permissible exposure limit. The OSHA limits for exposure to lead are very low because it is so toxic.

Lead Dust Exposure at Indoor Gun Ranges

In 2019 OSHA cited an indoor shooting range for exposure of lead dust. Because they often don’t have proper ventilation, lead dust levels in indoor gun ranges can be very high. Consequently, the penalties for the 2019 case in Texas totaled over $200,000. One of the major issues the company faced was using brooms to sweep up dust and lead debris. Another issue is the company’s failure to address damaged personal protective equipment or do medical testing.

Lead dust exposure at indoor gun ranges can be higher than many people realize. A review of several scientific studies found that people who spend time in indoor gun ranges have blood lead levels up to 40 times higher than the average person (Lead Exposure at Firing Ranges – A Review).

This elevated exposure even applied to people who only attended one shooting event. It took days to weeks for lead levels to return to normal after just one event. People who regularly use an indoor shooting range, with regular exposure, may have unsafe lead levels.

Another issue noted by OSHA and the same scientific studies found that a major risk is lead dust was accumulating around the facility. People using or working in an indoor gun range can pick up lead dust on their clothes or bodies. This dust then goes home with them and can affect others with lead exposure.

Lead Dust Control in Gun Ranges

Gun ranges usually have a strong focus on safety and proper gun handling. However, they need a dust control system to prevent shooters and workers from lead dust exposure. The OSHA-cited facility in Texas attempted to clean up their dust and debris with brooms. This does not remove the dust. Instead, it pushes it into the air, where it settles onto surfaces.

The employees doing the sweeping are at high risk, but anyone inside the gun range will experience exposure. Even without stirring up dust on the floor, shooting produces airborne lead dust around the shooting area. Even if employees take precautions during cleaning the area, shooters wear no respiratory protection. This means that only a dust collection system can control lead dust exposure.

Simple ventilation will not solve the problem. The EPA regulates emissions of toxic materials like lead. The best solution is an industrial dust collection system. You can use a cartridge dust collector as an ambient system. This type of system cleans lead dust out of all the air in the facility on a continuous basis.

Rather than venting lead dust into the environment, a dust collector will capture the dust. Cartridge dust collector filters are highly efficient for small particles. If needed, after-filters can be added to make sure all the lead dust is captured.

Advantages of a Dust Collector for Shooting Ranges

A dust collection system will help a shooting range control lead dust exposure in several ways.

• Remove lead dust from the air around the shooters, keeping their exposure under control during shooting.
• Continuous dust removal prevents lead dust from accumulating, limiting the exposure that happens when workers sweep or clean up lead dust.
• The efficient filtration prevents the outside release of lead dust and keeps it from getting back into the building.
• Cartridge dust collectors are easy to maintain. Pulses of compressed air clean the filters, unlike HVAC filters in a regular ventilation system.
• Safely contain lead dust. It can be disposed of according to local regulations. Material contaminated with lead is less likely to end up in the environment.

A properly designed dust collection system will clear the gun range of most lead dust. This lowers exposure and makes cleanup easier and safer. Lead exposure in gun ranges could cause health problems. Protecting workers and shooters should be a priority. A CMAXX dust collection system offers an efficient way to decrease lead exposure and remove lead dust.

Air Pollution Control: Indoor & Outdoor Air Quality

by Erin Long | Jul 24, 2019 | Uncategorized

Companies hold responsibility for their air pollution control and management. The EPA lists its “Big Six” air pollutants. Above all, the two of these that concern our customers the most are lead and other particulate matter. This can include many kinds of industrial air pollution. The EPA certainly enforces limitations on these.

In addition to the EPA, many companies are hit with negative publicity when news sources call them out as major polluters. For example, these companies in Pittsburgh have been accused of failing to develop or maintain air pollution controls. To make things worse, the report lists the proximity of the companies to local schools. Thus, it highlights that they are endangering children.

No company wants to be in violation of the EPA’s Air Pollution Control Act. You also don’t want the bad name and harmful attention that comes with being named as a major pollution source. So how do we control air pollution? Let’s focus on dust emissions.

Dust Collection for Control of Air Pollution

A dust collection system can help manage air pollution, especially the release of lead and other particulates. The EPA recognizes two types of particles: PM10 and PM2.5.

Particulates rated as PM10 measure around 10 microns or smaller. Meanwhile, PM2.5 particles are the most dangerous. They are 2.5 microns or smaller. The lungs will deeply inhale these. Many industries produce particles this small. So they all need strategies to curb industrial emissions.

Welding and plasma cutting are common processes. For most metalworking applications, a dust collector with DeltaMAXX NanoFiber filters will provide control for air pollution. This is important whether you circulate the air back into the facility or release it outside.

Nanofiber material is efficient down to 0.3 microns. This much smaller than the EPA’s 2.5 micron size range. If your application is producing dust that isn’t especially toxic, this type of air filtration should be sufficient.

Some materials, however, are more toxic and might need an additional level of filtering. For these applications, add HEPA filters after the main filters to increase efficiency. HEPA filters can be up to 99.99% efficient. “Clean rooms” that must be completely dust and germ-free often use them.

Materials that create a serious health hazard include hexavalent chromium. This dangerous chemical is produced from working on stainless steel or chrome-plated metal. Lead, often the product of battery manufacturing is a major hazard. Beryllium, the subject of new OSHA regulations, causes fatal lung disease.

Occupational and Environmental Agencies

Most companies are aware of OSHA and EPA regulations. They are regulatory agencies and can both issue fines for noncompliance. However, they regulate different things. So you can be compliant with one and not the other. (Learn more in our blog post: Is There an OSHA Compliant Dust Collector?)

OSHA regulates occupational hazards or ones that happen during work. They would be concerned with air pollution management and control in the workplace. This might be silica exposure on a construction site or metal fumes from a cutting table.

The EPA regulates environmental hazards. These are exposures that could harm people and the environment. Not all of them come from industrial air pollution. Many states, especially California and several states in New England, have adopted standards much stricter than the EPA’s rules. In California, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, Placer County Air Pollution Control District, San Diego Air Pollution Control District, and Ventura County Air Pollution Control District outline their tough standards on their websites.

In 2012, the Association of Air Pollution Control Agencies was formed. Its purpose is to create a technical forum where ideas, information, and best practices could be shared among state air quality agencies. You can visit this website for more information about the EPA in your own state.

OSHA measures limits for indoor industrial air pollution as a time-weighted exposure. This means that the limit considers the exposure an employee has over a specific time. The EPA usually measures air pollution in parts per million. In other words, the number of dangerous particles in the air.

Let’s Do Our Part

We need to clean up dirty air by reducing air pollution from many places. Industries are one major source of air pollution, but power plants, large forest fires, and heavy car traffic are other important sources.

Clean air inside and outside your facility isn’t just a way to avoid fines. It’s every company’s responsibility to its workers, their neighbors, and the world around us.

Read more about Imperial System’s efforts towards clean air.