Effect of Grit Size on Airborne Particle Concentration and Size Distribution during Oak Wood Sanding

Abstract

Adverse health effects caused by exposure to airborne particles have been detected in recent years, however there is little knowledge about exposure to ultrafine particles with a diameter <100 nm. In this study, particle number concentration and size distribution in a range of particle diameters from 10 nm to 10 µm were determined during oak wood sanding. A hand-held orbit sander in combination with three types of grit size (P60, 120 and 240) of sandpaper were used. Measurements were obtained using a portable particle size distribution analyzer and an optical particle size spectrometer, carried out at 15-min intervals for each treatment by static sampling in the breathing zone. We also compared the optical particle size spectrometer to the aerosol monitor in order to evaluate the mass concentration of airborne particles in the range of 1 to 10 µm in diameter. Sanding paper with the finest grit, P240, showed a significantly higher number concentration of ultrafine particles, compared with P60 and P120 grits. The differences among particular grit size were statistically significant for microparticles. The size distribution of particles during sanding was not affected by grit size. For each grit size, apparent peak values of ultrafine and microparticle number concentrations were determined at approximately 15 nm, and 0.1 µm, respectively. Optical particle size spectrometer and aerosol monitor showed comparable results of mass concentration for the respirable fraction.

Comparison of the Declared and Simulated Real-Use Noise Data during Wood Sanding Using a Hand-Held Power Sander

“…Moreover, the pressure force significantly influences the noise generated by a sander. This is substantiated by our methodologies for monitoring pressure force in our prior research endeavors [8,30]. In the current study, the sanding pressure's magnitude was approximated based on the sander's weight and the surface area of the sandpaper.…”

“…The hand-held power sander is a frequently used tool in woodworking, and it is a significant source of risk in terms of dust [6][7][8][9][10][11][12], vibration [13][14][15][16][17], and, not least, noise [18][19][20][21]. The noise reduction of a hand-held electric sander is an integral part of the design process and is achieved particularly by applying measures at the source to control noise.…”