|
|
|
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Can Save Your Life
If a foundry worker’s first line of defense against injury or death is safe equipment and training that enables proper operation under both routine and emergency conditions, the final line of defense is the worker’s personal protective equipment (PPE). Wearing the proper protective equipment can mean the difference between walking away from a foundry catastrophe or being injured or killed.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) including an aluminized coat, aluminized gloves and full hood helps protect this worker from a molten metal splash or eruption during charging. Various organizations that set national standards have established broad guidelines for the use of protective equipment in the metal casting industry. These organizations tend to agree on the basic types of personal equipment which provide workers with meaningful protection from molten metal exposure.
Aluminized coats, gloves and leggings protect melt shop workers from both metal splash and radiated heat. They must also wear head and face protection as well as laceless founders boots. Many protective equipment manufacturers and distributors refine industry guidelines. Armed with knowledge of the latest technological advances in protective materials and products, they can tailor safety equipment programs to specific foundry needs. There are two types of protective equipment worn in a foundry: primary and secondary protective equipment. ________________________________________________ Primary Protective Equipment
For eye/face protection, safety glasses with side shields are the minimum requirement. For molten metal exposure, a face shield is needed in addition to safety glasses. Your eyes are extremely susceptible to injury, and protection is so easy to provide. For head protection from flying/falling objects, shocks, splashes, etc., a hard hat must be worn. Working near places where there is heat, heat resistant/flame retardant gloves should be worn. In working near molten metal, foundry gloves which extend above the wrists must be worn. For protection of the body, arms and legs, aluminized glass outerwear has been recommended by the American Foundry Society (AFS) for protection against radiant heat and molten metal splash. Aluminized glass outerwear, similar to that pictured here will deflect about 90% of the radiant heat away from the body, while shedding molten metal splash and sparks. Use leggings to cover your legs.Pourer’s or laceless safety boots are required for foot protection from molten substance exposure. They can be removed quickly in case metal gets inside. Metatarsal-guard shoes protect the top of the foot. If laced boots are worn, they must be covered with spats, especially near the top where there is danger of the molten metal entering. AFS classifies protective garments according to metal types. When melting ferrous and other metals at high temperatures, they advise clothing which has undergone phosphorous-base treatment. However, for resistance to the clinging of molten splash from lower temperature melts, such as aluminum, galvalume, zinc, etc., these vendors recommend apparel of a non-phosphorous treatment.
Visitors must also be made to wear hard hats at all times irrespective of their duration of stay or proximity to known hazards and must also adhere to the same safety guidelines. ________________________________________________ Secondary Protective Equipment Secondary Protective Equipment is worn in areas where there is less hazard and is used to prevent ordinary clothing from igniting and burning. Flame resistant coveralls would be an example of secondary protective clothing. Secondary protective clothing will help to reduce burns significantly. In many cases, serious burns and fatalities have occurred because ordinary clothing caught fire from a small spark or splash, not from burns caused directly by molten metal. Along with secondary protective equipment you also must wear natural fiber outer clothing, undergarments and socks. Some synthetic fabrics melt or catch fire and this can increase the burn hazard. AFS recommends the use of washable, fire resistant undergarments. Certainly, foundries are hot places to work and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) adds to the problem of heat-related stress, but it can save your life. ________________________________________________ Lower Temperature, Higher Risk While some metals melt at a lower temperature than ferrous metals, they, in some respects, present a greater metal splash hazard to the foundry worker. Low temperature metals and their alloys, such as aluminum, galvalume, tin, lead, galfan, zinc, copper and copper alloys, etc., stick to bare skin, producing severe and possibly disfiguring burns. If larger amounts of metal are involved, the burns can be fatal.
Although molten aluminum looks less threatening, in some respects it is even more dangerous than higher temperature metals and must be treated as such. Wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and equipment, including safety glasses, face shield, head and body protection and foot and hand protection is crucial to safety when working in proximity to molten metals, regardless of the melting temperature.
When these ordinary work clothes were ignited by molten aluminum, the worker suffered fatal burns. Flame resistant clothing might have saved his life. Safety professionals advise that not all protective clothing provides the same protection against all metals. For example, they report that molten aluminum sticks to some fabrics and not others. Also, some types of aluminized fabrics ignite when splashed with molten aluminum while others do not. They specify that splash tests be conducted to evaluate new protective equipment before it is put into use. ________________________________________________ Masks & Respirators
Where airborne hazards and noise pollution pose a threat, safety professionals also specify the use of respirators and hearing protection devices. Silica dust particles are considered a health hazard when inhaled over time. Inhalation without protection may cause severe irritation of the respiratory system, leading to silicosis or cancer. Please refer to the manufacturer’s warning.
When insulating the coil terminations or pass thrus inside a vacuum chamber, the materials used release fumes which are considered to be hazardous. Be sure to use the appropriate mask for a given situation. Most masks protect against only certain types of dust and vapor. For example, respirators designed to filter out sulfur dioxide gas are required when cleaning the nitrogen lines on pressure pour furnaces used to hold ductile iron. Working with molten metal in a foundry is serious business and involves many hazards. Injuries ranging from minor to fatal can occur, but by being aware of the dangers and taking the appropriate steps to safeguard ourselves, we can reduce the day-to-day risks associated with our work.
________________________________________________ Three Keys to Personal Safety
This melt deck worker is protected by all three keys: distance, a barrier and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). There are three primary ways to help protect people from the dangers of molten metal. These are distance, protective barriers and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Distance - Distance is a very straightforward form of protection. The further you are away from metal splash, the safer you are. That’s why manufacturers promote features such as automatic charging systems and computer controls. These systems enable people working with the furnace to stay further away and still do their jobs. In all situations, people not directly involved in working with the furnace must stay out of the immediate area of the furnace during charging, melting and pouring operations. Protective Barriers - Protective barriers can provide protection against heat and splash when distance isn’t practical. An example of a barrier would be a screen around a pouring control station on the melt deck. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) - Wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), however, is the most important step you can take as an individual to protect yourself from metal splash. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) has to be your last line of defense. ________________________________________________ IMPORTANT: |
Primary Protective Equipment is the gear which you wear over your secondary protective equipment when there is significant exposure to radiant heat, molten metal splash and flame. It is designed to give you the greatest protection. Primary protective gear should be worn during work activities like charging, sampling, temperature measuring, slagging, tapping, pouring and casting operations, or whenever there is close proximity to molten metal. Primary Protective Equipment includes safety glasses, a face shield, hard hat, jacket, apron, gloves, leggings, spats, cape and sleeves, and must be made of aluminized glass fabrics.
