Don't 'blow off' dust collection needs.

Tens of thousands of woodworkers will converge on Atlanta next month for the International Woodworking Machinery & Supply Fair. While many will scour the Georgia World Congress Center and Georgia Dome in search of new sources of hardware, computer software, decorative laminates, finishes and other supplies, for most IWF '98 attendees, the main attraction is the machinery exhibits.

And why not? The vast and wide assortment of equipment that will be displayed at IWF '98 represents the best woodworking technology the world has to offer. This makes IWF '98 a great one-stop shop to research, evaluate and ultimately purchase equipment that can help a company increase productivity, improve quality or allow it to launch a new product line.

At the same time woodworkers ponder what brand of sander to buy or debate whether to purchase a CNC router that can drill or a point-to-point boring machine that can rout, they should keep in mind the impact the new equipment will have on their dust collection requirements.

Today's machines, with their faster operating speeds, have the ability not only to crank out more parts per hour, but also generate considerably more dust. Too often lost in the shuffle of new equipment purchases is a comprehensive plan for controlling the additional dust that will be produced by them. This creates a doubly sorry situation for companies that are already overtaxing their dust collection systems.

Keep It Clean

As if professional woodworkers need to be reminded, there are several compelling reasons for investing in the most efficient dust control that a company can cost-justify. They include:

* ensuring the health and safety of employees;

* minimizing dust contamination of parts that are to be finished, laminated or veneered;

* maintaining equipment at peak operating performance; and

* preparing for the eventual federal crackdown on workplace wood dust emissions.

The first and last points will likely be tightly intertwined in a new round of wood dust rule-making by the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration that could be in the works by the end of next year. By then, the American Council of Governmental Industrial Hygenists is expected to publish a revised recommended exposure limit for wood dust.

The ACGIH is presently accepting public comment on the panel's proposal to establish a 2 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/[m.sup.3]) threshold limit value (TLV) on occupational exposures for both hardwood dust, which it lists as an "Al - Confirmed Human Carcinogen," and softwood dust, which it lists as an "A4 - Not Classifiable as a Human Carcinogen." This represents a revision of ACGIH's current published recommendation to limit hardwood dust exposures to 1mg/[m.sup.3] and softwood dust exposures to 5mg/[m.sup.3]. Most importantly, the proposed revision is well below the 5mg/[m.sup.3] limit that the Inter-Industry Wood Dust Coordinating Committee had successfully lobbied for as part of OSHA's 1989 Air Contaminants Rule, struck down by the courts in 1992.

Fully aware that ACGIH recommendations have a strong influence on federal and state OSHA rulemaking and knowing that meeting a 2mg/[m.sup.3] standard would not be a piece of cake, the IWDCC, a group made up of some 20 industry trade associations, is funding a scientific study that it plans to submit to ACGIH before the comment deadline early next year.

How this all plays out remains to be seen. In any regard our advice to woodworking companies with dust collection problems is simple: Clean up your act.