Control of Drywall Sanding Dust Exposures

Construction workers who sand drywall joint compound are often exposed to high concentrations

of dusts and, in some cases, respirable silica. Drywall joint compounds are made from many

ingredients (i.e., talc, calcite, mica, gypsum, silica). Some of these have been associated with

varying degrees of eye, nose, throat, and respiratory tract irritation. Over time, breathing the dust

from drywall joint compounds may cause persistent throat and airway irritation, coughing, phlegm 

production, and breathing difficulties similar to asthma. Smokers or workers with sinus or

respiratory conditions may risk even worse health problems. When silica is present, workers may

also face an increased risk of silicosis and lung cancer.

A recent NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation (HHE) found that drywall sanders were exposed to as

much as 10 times the permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 15 mg/m

3

 for total dust set by the

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The OSHA PEL for respirable dust

(5 mg/m

3

), the very small particles that can go deep into the lungs, was also exceeded.

Drywall joint compound manufacturers recognize that workers might be exposed to too much

dust during drywall sanding. NIOSH studied five manufacturers’ material safety data sheets

(MSDSs) that warned workers to avoid generating dust and to use respiratory protection when

dry sanding. Four of the MSDSs told construction workers to use wet sanding whenever possible, 

and the fifth said to cut dust exposures “by ventilation.” However, these guidelines are seldom

followed in actual work practice. Wet sanding is generally avoided because of concerns about

drying time and finish texture. Wet sanding is used to protect equipment or furnishings rather than

to reduce work exposures. When respiratory protection is worn, it is often used incorrectly with

little thought to training, proper selection, or fit.

HC 30

CONTROLS
O Vacuum Sanding Systems

Sev eral light-weight sand ing sys tems are now

sold to con trol dry wall work ers’ sand ing ex po sures

(see Fig ure 1). These sys tems use por ta ble vac uums to cap ture and re move the dust be fore the

worker is ex posed to it. In 1994, NIOSH stud ied

sev eral of these sand ing sys tems at the In ter national Broth er hood of Painters and Allied Trades

(IBPAT) Ap pren tice ship Training Fa cil ity in Se attle, Wash ing ton. NIOSH en gi neers com pared the

dust ex po sures from three pole-sanding and two

hand-sanding vac uum con trol sys tems with the

ex po sures from tra di tional, nonventilated sand ing

meth ods. The five com mer cially avail able vacuum sand ing con trols suc cess fully re duced dust

exposures by 80% to 97%. Four of the five sand -

ing con trols cut ex po sures by nearly 95%. If en gineer ing con trols had re duced to tal dust ex po sures

by 90% in the HHE case re port de scribed ear lier,

the con struc tion work ers’ ex po sures would have

re mained be low the OSHA PEL.

Since the 1994 NIOSH study, more man u fac tur ers

are now mak ing dry wall sand ing con trols to cut

dust ex po sures. Al though NIOSH has not tested

these con trols, re search ers ex pect them to perform well. In ad di tion to cut ting dust ex po sures,

each of these new con trols has its own special

fea tures that will at tract both dry wall pro fes sion als

and the do-it-yourselfer.

In ad di tion to lower ex po sures, vac uum sand ing sys tems can help the sander, sub con trac tor,

gen eral con trac tor, and build ing owner in other ways. The dra matic re duc tion in air borne dust ex -

po sures re sults in a much cleaner work area dur ing and af ter sand ing. For work ers, the clean

work ing en vi ron ment is more com fort able; less ir ri tat ing to eyes, nose, and throat; and less likely

to re quire re spi ra tory pro tec tion. For the sub con trac tor, a com fort able worker is likely to be more

pro duc tive, be ab sent less often, and re quire fewer breaks for “fresh air.” The sav ings and reduced reg u la tory li a bil ity given by lower re spi ra tory pro tec tion re quire ments will be passed from

the sub con trac tor to the build ing owner. Other cost sav ings will re sult from a cleaner en viron ment

that re duces dirt, cleanup time, and re pair or repainting of stained floors and carpets.

Figure 1. Hand-sanding and pole-sanding vacuum

control systems.
O Pole-Sanding

NIOSH study re sults sug gest that the con struc tion work ers’ dust ex po sures might be cut sim ply by

chang ing from hand-sanding to pole-sanding. This change is even more im por tant when work ing

over head. The pole in creases the space be tween the worker and the sand ing sur face, which in

turn re duces the amount of dust close to the worker’s nose and mouth.

 For More Information

To obtain more free information about controlling this hazard, or for information about other

occupational safety and health issues:

The NIOSH report HETA 94–0078–2660 and a list of known sources for drywall sanding

engineering controls may be requested from NIOSH. A drywall sanding kit may be requested

from the Center to Protect Workers Rights (202–962–8490).

*NIOSH is the Federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for preventing work-related

illnesses and injuries. All HAZARD CONTROLS are based on research studies that show how worker exposures to hazardous

agents or activities can be significantly reduced.

 Acknowledgments

The prin ci pal con tri bu tors to this pub li ca tion were Ken neth R. Mead, P.E.; Aubrey K. Miller, M.D.;

and Jerome P. Flesch, M.S. Desk top pub lish ing was pro vided by Vanessa Becks, Kristina Dragon,

and Susan Kaelin.

June 1999 DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 99–113

— call NIOSH* at 1–800–35–NIOSH (1–800–356–4674), or

— visit the NIOSH Homepage on the World Wide Web at

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh

This document is in the public domain and may be freely copied or reprinted. NIOSH encourages

all readers of this HAZARD CONTROLS to make it available to all interested employers and workers.