# Engineering Controls Database

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## Control of Wood Dust for Orbital Hand Sanders

| Problem:                                        | Orbital hand sanders have been found to create significant amounts of wood dust.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
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| What this means to you:                         | Workers exposed to wood dusts have experienced a variety of adverse health effects such as eye and skin irritation, allergy, reduced lung function, asthma, and nasal cancer.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
| Description of control:                         | NIOSH researchers found that the wood dust generated by orbital hand sanders is often poorly controlled. To address this problem, researchers designed and tested a new control system for these hand sanders that significantly reduced dust emissions. Orbital hand sanders are extensively used in woodworking processes. The dust from these sanders is generally not controlled although some are equipped with dust removal capabilities. However, even the sanders having dust removal do not effectively control the wood dust generated by the sanding operation. Therefore, a new control approach was developed. A Dust Control Plenum was designed and tested on an orbital sander. The plenum fits between the sanding pad and the sander body and has a series of exhaust slots along its edges. An exhaust connection on the top of the sander pad connects the plenum with a vacuum source. The plenum does not interfere with the operator's activities, requires no special maintenance, is inexpensive to operate, and can be used on any sander, pneumatically or electrically powered.**Dust control plenum for orbital hand sanders** |
| Engineering and Physical Hazard Report Numbers: | 180-05-A; 180-05-B; 180-05-C; 180-05-D; 180-05-E; 180-05-F; 180-05-G; 180-05-H; 180-05-I; 180-05-J1; 180-05-J2; 180-05-K1; 180-05-K2; 180-05-L; 180-05-M; 180-05-N; 180-05-O; 180-05-P; 180-05-Q; 180-05-R; 180-05-S; 180-05-T; 180-05-U; 180-05-V; 180-11-A; 185-05-A; 185-05-B; 185-05-C; 185-05-D;                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
| NAICS Codes:                                    | 33321;4213                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| Keywords:                                       | constructionconstructionorbital hand sanderwoodworkingwoodworking                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| How well does this control work?                | Laboratory tests show that the plenum reduces wood dust emissions by approximately 90 percent                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |

November 16, 2018
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health