Respiratory protection when working steel?

[grammaton76]

Ok, so I know that it's a really good idea to wear respiratory protection when you're working with lead. Nasty stuff.

But I've been grinding a lot of rivets on AK kits lately, and it just came to mind that maybe, just maybe, it would be a good idea to wear some kind of respiratory protection when working on steel. If I'm not mistaken, steel dust isn't really that bad for you (heck, it's mostly made of iron, and I think you eventually process that in small amounts), but is that really the case?

Should I wear a mask or something while I'm grinding rivets?

[subroutine]

if it doesn't naturally occur in AIR, then, yes, you can never be too careful with your lung-health. wear a mask......they are cheap and will make you "breath easier".

oh, and BTW, steel does contain carbon, which is a carcinogen.....(to the best-est of my knowledge)

my .02

SUB

[phish]

It sounds like a good idea to wear a nuisance mask at a minimum. It may even be better to wear what's recommended when you're using a sand blaster, hardware stores should carry these.

[C.G.]

if it doesn't naturally occur in AIR, then, yes, you can never be too careful with your lung-health. wear a mask......they are cheap and will make you "breath easier".

oh, and BTW, steel does contain carbon, which is a carcinogen.....(to the best-est of my knowledge)

my .02

SUB

Humans are carbon based, so I don't think so. On the other hand, carbon dioxide, carbon tetrachloride etc. are carcinogens, at least that is what studies say.

[Pulsar]

Your body actually will naturally expel steel dust from your lungs. Chemically it's not harmful, and it doesn't build up over time, but breath enough and you will notice a sore throat, and lots and lots of black snot. And those little particals can probably tear lung tissue, it will heal, but still not good.

So yeah, wear a dusk mask, or even a hankerchef. Just keep the dust out.

[taloft]

It won't hurt to wear it. In addition to the steel dust you have the dust from the grinding wheel. I'm sure you're already doing this but, I would also recommend safety goggles if you are grinding. Hot steel in the eyeball will wreck your day.

[grammaton76]

It won't hurt to wear it. In addition to the steel dust you have the dust from the grinding wheel. I'm sure you're already doing this but, I would also recommend safety goggles if you are grinding. Hot steel in the eyeball will wreck your day.

Yeah, that's one thing I already knew to do. Although I did switch back to contacts recently, and was out of practice of remembering eye protection at first. I'm grateful that I remembered it when I just saw a spark fly towards my face and went, "Oops - I'm not wearing glasses anymore, am I?"

I think based on what I'm reading, I'll probably buy a filter mask when I'm at Home Depot next, but not make it a really huge priority. I'm not doing a LOT of steel grinding, and my face is generally out of the way when I'm doing it. Haven't even had the sore throat symptoms, so far... then again, I'm not in the habit of taking deep breaths right behind the grinder wheel while taking rivet heads off.

Wait - actually, come to think of it, I could just wear my ninja mask from last halloween. Knock it off people, I don't work at a mall, I'm a trailer park ninja! And for the record, it's fun slinking around a nocturnal halloween party, appearing where no one expects to see you...

[ligamentum flavum]

Exposure to steel dust (mainly iron, manganese, and chromium) at levels approximately 100x normal exposure has not been specifically tied to respiratory disease.

Having said that, I'd probably still put on an N95 rated mask when working with particulate air matter. Having lung cancer or pulmonary fibrosis is not fun.

Oh, BTW, wood dust (especially treated wood) has been shown to be carcinogenic. So have a good dust collection system if wood-working is a hobby. I used to love the smell of freshly cut wood, but now I try not to breathe that stuff in.

[CACitUP]

Ok, so I know that it's a really good idea to wear respiratory protection when you're working with lead. Nasty stuff.

But I've been grinding a lot of rivets on AK kits lately, and it just came to mind that maybe, just maybe, it would be a good idea to wear some kind of respiratory protection when working on steel. If I'm not mistaken, steel dust isn't really that bad for you (heck, it's mostly made of iron, and I think you eventually process that in small amounts), but is that really the case?

Should I wear a mask or something while I'm grinding rivets?

I would be more concerned about the materials coming off your grinding/cutting disk. They dont catch on fire for a reason.

[Shoot-it]

I am sure you are fine with out one if your just grinding rivets.If you were grinding a metal plate with a 8 inch grinder for 8 hours then a mask would be necessary.Blow your nose if its black then you need a mask.......... ...

[NoTime2Shoot]

The carcinogens, when grinding, come mainly from the abrasives.

[xrMike]

Ok, so I know that it's a really good idea to wear respiratory protection when you're working with lead. Nasty stuff.

I remember reading somebody's opinion somewhere that the highest exposure to lead that shooters experience comes from the re-loading process. No, not when you cast your own lead bullets or anything, but when you polish your empty shells! This article I read posited that -- since all primers are made of a chemical called lead styphnate -- the lead from fired shells gets all over the cleaning media (walnut, corncob, whatever) and mixes with the very fine dust that gets produced during vibratory cleaning. When you separate the media from the cleaned brass is when you get your biggest exposure, in the form of fine, fine dust that gets wafted up into the air, which you inhale. The lead is easily absorbed into the body through the lungs.

Maybe this is common knowledge, I don't know. Just thought it was interesting.

[NwG]

If you do feel the need to use some sort of filterig, you would be surprised at what some of the disposable "dust masks" will do.. If you look at there rateing they can filter a ton of stuff.. We use them at work all the time..

Some of the ones we use are rated @ NR99.. These pretty much filter out 99% of bad things.. They are just about as good as a full face resparator!

If your near Redondo Beach I have a a few hundread sitting around....

[Satex]

[Mssr. Eleganté]

Can you just stick a small magnet in one nostril? As you inhale through the other nostril the magnet will pull all of the steel particles out of the air.