EFFECT OF SELECTED FACTORS ON MASS CONCENTRATION OF AIRBORNE DUST DURING WOOD SANDING

Sanding with handheld powered tools has been recognized as one of the most significant factor in personal exposure to wood dust in the woodworking industry. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of wood species and grain size of abrasive on wood removal and mass concentration of wood dust emitted by a random orbit sander. Experimental study was designed as 4x4 full factorial experiments. The mass concentration of emitted wood dust was measured using aerosol monitor DustTrak DRX 8533. The results of this study confirm that softwood species generated higher dust concentrations than hardwood species due to difference in abrasion durability. Compared to sanding disc with P40 grit size, approximately 48% higher dust concentration was generated when the sanding disc with P240 grit size was used.