I have a friend, former student, who now has asthma and a terrible
sinus infection that she’s not been able to get rid of since last
November!!! She does some silver smithing along with a LOT of
lamped glass beads . . . She’s wearing a resperator and thinks that
this will solve her health issues. In my opinion, she needs an
exhaust fan in front of her face . . . but she won’t go along with
that, and think’s what she has is enough . . . What do the experts
think??? Which is the better way to go, resperators, and air
cleaners, or a real and good exhaust system over or next to the area
in which the beads are being made??? thanks of the info, and i’ll
pass it on . …
Hello, An asthmatic really needs to be cautious. This is one
disease that is on the increase and the reasons are not fully
understood. In general, the cleaner the air, the better - that
includes particulates. I wonder if she has attacks during or after
the time spent working in the studio.
I have a friend, former student, who now has asthma and a
terrible sinus infection that she’s not been able to get rid of since
last November!!! She does some silver smithing along with a LOT of
lamped glass beads . . . She’s wearing a resperator and thinks that
this will solve her health issues. … Which is the better way to
go, resperators, and air cleaners, or a real and good exhaust system
over or next to the area in which the beads are being made???
My vote is for good exhaust and filtered make-up air, coupled with
an appropriate respirator. I’d also look at her buffing system to
see if it captures the airborn particles. Air cleaners that remove
particles are useful, but she should avoid the type that creates
ozone. There is a growing body of research that links asthma to
exposure to ozone.
If she needs an unbiased third party to advise her, I always
recommend contacting the local county extension office (in the USA).
If the agent doesn’t have the expertise to help, she/he can relay
the questions to the university staff. Best of all, it’s a free
service!! Your tax dollars at work.
Judy in Kansas, where we had a spate of storms and some tornados
last night. No damage though, but some much-needed rain. Judy M.
Willingham, R.S. Biological and Agricultural Engineering 237 Seaton
Hall Kansas State University Manhattan KS 66506
(785) 532-2936
The respirators I assume are just dust filters and will not remove
any of the gases from the hot work. All hot melted materials and
combustion processes will put potentially harmful materials in the
air. These will probably not be removed by respirator cartridges or
filters. It looks like your friend may have developed a sensitivity
to these substances . She should have a well designed fume hood type
work area where fresh air passes by her and is exhausted out of
the area. This should be more than just an exhaust fan , but that
is a start.
Right now she should probably stop doing this sort of work and try
and clear up the problem. She probably should also see a Dr. to see
if there is a possible biological cause as well . Once I was
exposed to what was probably a lot of molds In a very dusty area
which resulted in several years of recurring bronchitis. Watching for
and trying to avoid heavy additional exposures seems to have
eliminated those illnesses.
Jesse
The particular circumstances of a given case can dictate the best
response, but in general providing personal protective wear (a
respirator in this case) should be regarded as the very last final
fall back solution, for use when all else has failed. In some
countries this is enshrined in law, though that applies only for
workplaces and not in a strictly hobby type situation.
Again, being very general, things to look at first would be to
identify the cause of the problem and try to eliminate it by using a
different process or substituting a different material. If that
can’t be done then look to keep the offending material away from the
worker. An extraction fan or hood as you suggest may be one way to
do this. Be especially carefull that an open fan cannot just
circulate stuff around, and make sure that anything being sucked away
from a work area doesn’t pass through the breathing area on its way
to the outside. Again, in workplace situations there may be legal
stuff associated with the design and maintenance of extraction
equipment. Personal protective equipment should always be the final
recourse, and, yes, in a workplace situation there may be legal
points to consider.
A few final thoughts… atmospheric pollution (which is what you
are hinting at here) might well aggravate asthma, and might lower
resistance to infection, but it doesn’t cause sinus infection, so
some medical intervention may be needed.
I wonder if it could be as simple as lack of ventillation, or more
dangerously carbon monoxide poisoning, from the lamp working? Does
she have a carbon monoxide monitor/alarm in the area?
Final thoughts, on respirators. I take it she is using something
more than a simple paper dust mask? Respirators with a replaceable
filter take quite a bit of effort to draw air in and out, and can
actually be very tiring over prolongued periods, which doesn’t sound
like a good thing for someone with asthma. And always make sure the
filter is really what is required in the particular case, and take
special note of the effective lifetime of the filter cartridge, in
some cases it can be less than a normal work shift.
Kevin (NW England, UK)