Page 62
www.us-
tech.com
March, 2015
Capturing and Filtering Airborne Contaminants in the Workplace
By Stefan Meissner, ULT AG E
nsuring safety and occupation- al health in the workplace has become increasingly important
for manufacturing facilities in recent years. It should certainly be consid- ered as part of the job rather than an annoyance. As manufacturing pro - ces ses have grown in complexity, the pollutants resulting from those processes have become smaller and more exotic. “From chipping come chips” is a popular description of these processes. Chips resulting from today’s electronic manufacturing processes can no longer be seen with the naked eye since the resulting dust and smoke particles are shrink- ing to nanometer dimensions. Pollutants of any size can affect
humans, machines, and the environ- ment. In addition, pollutants can lead to high absence rates for employees with adverse financial impact on a company much like the loss of productivity due to malfunc- tioning machines. Other adverse effects can include maintenance expenses, the need for excessive rework of products and, finally, loss of company reputation and loss of demand for the company’s products. Fortunately, extraction and fil-
tration technology can reliably pro- tect equipment performance and employee health and welfare while also taking into account any chang- ing manufacturing process parame-
Extraction and filtration technology can reliably protect equipment per-
formance and employee health and welfare.
ters. Today’s available extraction and filtration technologies can process a wide range of airborne sub- stances, working with nearly all processes used in the electronic man- ufacturing industry. There is a very large number of such processes that generate harmful substances, includ- ing interconnection and separation processes, surface processing such as drilling, sintering, and milling, the use of fluxes, production processes
such as three-dimensional (3D)
printing, and even rapid prototyping by means of lasers, soldering, and glueing. All of these processes also produce harmful substances that can cause employee health problems.
machines in the workplace caused by pollution and chemical reactions to the contaminants. In particular, in the case of finest precision mechani- cal constructs, all kinds of impact by particles must be avoided.
Manual (OTM) defines airborne con- taminants and quantifies the re - quirements for their capture and removal from the air. According to the German guide-
lines, a four-level strategy is applied to achieving protection, ranging from minimizing dangerous substances (level 1) by substituting for haz- ardous substances and using extrac- tion devices (level 2), or using closed systems and access limits (levels 3), to demarcation of risk areas (level 4) to achieve cleaner air. In addition to the regulation on contaminant cap- ture by closed and open systems, the German requirements specify that dusts and gases must be filtered to a high degree (>99.95 percent). Users of air filtration equip-
A wide range of particles that can cause harm to humans can be found in inhalable air pollutants. A vacuum-like extraction arm is
designed to remove harmful pollutants before they can be inhaled by the technician.
Laser Smoke Is Hazardous Lasers are being used more and
more in metal and plastics process- ing, for such functions as drilling, welding, and cutting. In metal pro- cessing, lasers can release dust con- taining heavy metals that may accu- mulate in the human body. During processing of alloyed metals, dust containing such substances as nickel, cobalt, and chromium can be re - leased. When pyrolysis occurs, or - gan ic substances may generate diox- ins or hydrogen chloride. Moreover, laser smoke contains fine dust that may, under worst-case conditions, lead to respiratory diseases, cardio- vascular problems, and increased risks of cancer. Apart from the poor working
conditions due to permanent smoke and odor emissions, airborne con- taminants can affect or damage
Laws and Regulations In many countries, removal of
hazardous substances from breath- able air is defined by clear laws and regulations. In Germany, for exam- ple, the Ordinance on Hazardous Substances, Technical Instructions for Air Quality Control, and Tech - nical Rules for Hazardous Sub - stances provide the rules for remov- ing contaminants from breathable air. The standards require that “pro- duced dusts must be completely cap- tured and safely disposed of.” In the United States, the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (
www.osha.gov) sets the rules and standards for the cap- ture and filtration of airborne con- taminants in such indoor environ- ments as electronic manufacturing workplaces. For example, Section III, Chapter 2 of the OSHA Technical
ment and systems, such as electronic manufacturing facility managers, may not need to know all the regula- tions concerning air filtration, but vendors of extraction and filtration systems and equipment must know them in great detail. They need to have up-to-date expert knowledge on what must be done for effective extraction and filtration, from check- ing the medium to be filtered, the particle size distribution, and mate- rial characteristics (adhesive, sub- liming, etc.) through tests for haz- ardous substances and flammability.
For effective extraction and filtration, the
medium has to be checked
frequently, the particle size distribution, and material characteristics must be meticulously tested for
hazardous substances and flammability.
Extraction and filtration tech-
nologies should be used in the best way possible, not only for establishing a healthy air balance but for main- taining a healthful workplace. Clean air return is not regulated by law but strengthens economic and ecological acceptance and self-interest.
Continued on page 64
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104