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Safety Tips and Best Practices for Abrasive Blasting

Abrasive blasting is a well-known method for surface preparation and cleaning in industrial circles. This is a useful practice that’s very effective at removing paint, rust, and other surface contaminants to make sure surfaces are clean and ready to take new coatings.

That said, if done without the proper safety practices, abrasive blasting can be dangerous. In this article, we’re breaking down the harmful impact of abrasive blasting with poor technique, as well as our top five safety tips and best practices.

Is abrasive blasting dangerous?

There are several different types of abrasive blasting, which is also known as sandblasting. The three techniques we use most often at Hamilton Blast & Paint are:

  •       Vapour blasting. A gentle, dust-free version that incorporates water into the process, which allows for a smoother finish. Commonly used in automotive restoration and for maintaining delicate machinery.
  •       Grit blasting. This specialised blasting technique uses small, ultra-angular particles for intensive cleaning and restoration. Ideal for removing heavy contaminants like rust and marine corrosion.
  •       Garnet blasting. This method uses garnet, a natural material abrasive enough to remove contaminants from surfaces, but recyclable to create a sustainable abrasive blasting method.

Across the board, there are a few risks that come with abrasive blasting. Contaminant inhalation, especially things like silica dust, vaporised rust, or metal flakes, can present a major health risk. On top of that, pressurised techniques can cause serious injuries if managed improperly.

This is why we highly recommend contracting trained professionals to take care of this work for you. With that in mind, let’s break down five of the top safety tips and best practices an experienced professional would use while abrasive blasting.

5 Safety Tips & Best Practices 

Use Proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

One of the key issues is that this technique creates high-pressure streams of abrasive particles carried on jets of pressurised air. If anyone doing the blasting work is not properly protected, these streams, as well as the ricocheting particles, can cause some serious damage to exposed skin and eyes.

This is why it’s crucial  for operators to wear the right PPE, which generally includes:

  •         A blast helmet, which protects the face, head, and neck from debris. This also helps to protect the operator’s respiratory system by preventing them from inhaling dust.
  •         Hearing protection, such as earplugs or earmuffs. Abrasive blasting is very loud, so it’s important to prevent hearing damage.
  •         Protective clothing, like a heavy protective jumpsuit that covers all exposed skin. This usually also includes steel-toed boots to prevent foot injuries from any falling heavy materials or stray blasting particles.

Ensure the Area is Properly Ventilated

One of the occupational hazards of this method is the creation of a large amount of dust and fine particles. Abrasive particles are blasted at a particular surface to remove contaminants like rust, but in the process it can throw up a lot of dust and break those particles down small enough to become inhalable.

Inhaling these particles can create all sorts of respiratory issues, so it’s vital for blasting professionals to work in a ventilated area. Using exhaust systems and air quality monitors is recommended, as this allows workers to keep an eye on potential hazardous exposure levels.

Properly Manage Waste Disposal

Abrasive blasting, like many restorative works, can generate waste. This generally includes the discarded blasting particles, as well as the contaminants that have been blasted off the chosen surface. Proposing of these waste products poorly can actually lead to some serious environmental and health hazards.

The hallmark of experienced professionals is a commitment to waste containment. In some cases, this allows us to recycle the abrasive media and use it again (although this depends on the type of media we’re using). Managing waste during the process also ensures we can leave your site even cleaner than we found it.

Plan for Any Emergencies

Finally, as with any on-site work, it’s important to plan for any accidents that might occur during the process. As professionals, it’s vital to make contingency plans to ensure that we can respond fast enough to minimise the effects of any accidents (even if we work very, very hard in the first place to prevent these accidents from occurring).

At the end of the day, abrasive blasting is one of the most powerful and versatile surface preparation techniques out there. Even though it’s effective, it carries the potential for injury if done improperly. So, it’s vital that, as professional abrasive blasters, we follow these clear safety protocols to keep our workers and clients safe.

Reach out to Hamilton Blast & Paint 

Whether you’re after high-quality grit blasting or a more gentle, surface-friendly vapour blasting, the experienced team at Hamilton Blast & Paint is on hand to clean and prepare your surfaces with ease.

Each member of our team is well-practised at safely blasting and coating surfaces to provide optimal results as seamlessly as possible. Get in touch to get your free estimate today.