The fume and dust control needs for the foundry industry vary greatly. This is due to the many processes used to produce the final product; consisting of melting, creating moulds, casting, breaking the casting from the mould and finishing of the casting. Dust and fume extraction may also have special challenges, such as high temperatures and heavy dust loads.
Foundries can handle both ferrous and non-ferrous material. Sand is used to create the moulds and metal is often poured into these moulds, dust is an inevitable by-product of these diverse and wide-ranging applications. With years of expertise, integratedAIR Filtration have the answer to all dust control needs for the foundry industry. We can supply one of our BlueClean® stand-alone dust filter units built to handle your requirement or a full dust control solution. Find more about system design here.
Molten metal fume is extremely hazardous to health when inhaled. Ferrous foundry fume can cause lung cancer, other foundry fume and spray mists can cause lung diseases including asthma. It is imperative that employers take the correct steps to control dust and fume created in foundry processes. For more information on The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations in the foundry industry visit the HSE website.
In foundry the process of casting sand, fettlings and kiln linings creates silica dust. Silica is a natural substance found in varying amounts in most rocks. In foundry production respirable crystalline silica (RCS) dust is created and must be controlled as RCS increases the risk of Silicosis. Silicosis is an uncurable lung disease and increases the risk of getting other serious and potentially life-threatening conditions. Once exposed to RCS dust can take 10 to 20 years for silicosis develop, this can be less with high exposure. Once the symptoms develop, they will only get worse with time. Ensure that the correct LEV system is in place to keep dust exposure to a minim and protect your employees.
The HSE has recently updated its guidance (2022) for controlling RCS dust to find more information visit their website. Give integratedAIR Filtration a call to see how these changes affect you and discuss if any new measures need implementing to comply with the new guidance.
Our BlueClean® range of filtration equipment will help your client to reduce dust emissions, increase their product quality, be compliant with industry regulations, reduce maintenance and improved health and safety.
Applications within the foundry Industry include:
All dust extraction equipment used to control the dust must be maintained to ensure the system effectively reduces dust at the source and protects employees from inhalation and exposure. The LEV system needs to be examined and tested at least once every 14 months as per HSE guidance (HSG258). LEV records must be kept for at least 5 years.
Want to know more about industrial dust extraction? Find out more with our latests blogs and recent case studies
