Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Wood Dust
Wood Dust
Special Thanks
This overview was adapted from
“Wood Dust and Occupational
Asthma”
a booklet developed by the
• Symptoms of Asthma
• Woods That Cause Asthma
• Preventing Exposure
• Respirators
• Your Right To Know
• Exposure Limits
• Other Hazardous Substances
• Additional Resources
Wood Dust Can Be Hazardous
• Exposure to wood dust is
common in many industries
including:
– furniture or cabinet-making
– construction,
– logging,
– sawmill and paper mills
– plywood, particle board, and
fiberboard plants.
Eventually he began to
experience wheezing and
shortness of breath. These
symptoms often cleared up
during weekends and vacations,
but became worse during the
work week.
One Worker’s Story
Not only was the mill worker
exposed to dust directly when
cutting wood, but his entire work
area also had a lot of wood dust
around. Ventilation was poor. He was
never trained about the health
hazards of wood dust and how to
protect himself.
• Proper tool
maintenance
• Training
Train workers in the correct use and
maintenance of equipment.
Understanding Respirators
If you work in an area with high levels of
wood dust, you may need a respirator.
• A fit test
– A trained person must make sure your
respirator:
• is the right size
• Training
– Your employer must explain:
• what type of respirator you have
been given
• what it does
• how to put it on
They include:
• Molds and fungi
• Glues and adhesives
• Resin binders
• Waterproofing compounds
• Pesticides
• Paints, lacquers, and varnishes
• Paint stripper
• Sealants, dyes, and bonding agents.
Other Hazardous Substances
• Look for more in-depth modules on many of the topics covered in this
module at :
http://www.lni.wa.gov/Safety/TrainTools/Online/Courses/default.asp
• MSDS Search
http://www.msdssearch.com/msdssearch.htm
Information and Help
• Washington law says that every worker has the right to a
safe and healthy workplace. WISHA is the state agency that
enforces this law.