Page 54
www.us-tech.com
August, 2016
Breathing Easy: Indoor Air Quality and Production
By Scott Snell, Purex, Inc. F
or many of us, long gone are the days of working outdoors in the sunshine, with a satisfying
breeze to keep us moving when we feel fatigued. These days, most of us work inside. Although being out of the elements is nice, most of us breathe the air that is available at our work- place, which is affected by the opera- tions that take place there. Given that we are built to breathe clean and
fresh air, it is no surprise that produc- tivity levels are directly related to the level of indoor air quality. Recently OSHA cited the viola-
tion of 1910.134(c)(1), which states, “
...the control of those occupational diseases caused by breathing air con- taminated with harmful dusts, fogs, fumes, mists, gases, smokes, sprays, or vapors; the primary objective (of employers) shall be to prevent atmos-
pheric contaminations,” as one of the top 10 complaints that the organiza- tion receives from workers. The World Green Building
Council reported on indoor air quali- ty (IAQ), “The health and productivi- ty benefits of good indoor air quality are well-established. This can be indicated by low concentrations of
CO2 and pollutants and high ventila- tion rates. A comprehensive body of
research can be drawn on to suggest that productivity improvements of eight to eleven percent are not
Laser-marking processes
generate particulates and VOCs, which then circulate in the air.
uncommon as a result of better air quality.”
Most manufacturing operations
would be hard-pressed to find an approximate ten percent increase in productivity anywhere else by doing what is morally responsible, required by law and neither hard nor expen- sive to achieve.
Particulates and VOCs Indoor air temperature and
humidity have a well-documented history and resulting problems are easily solved. Often forgotten, how- ever, is the topic of airborne particu- lates and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In manufacturing, essential- ly any operation where a material is cut, marked, heated, burned, or physically altered in any way has the potential to produce harmful materi- als, which then circulate in the air. Common areas of production
that cause IAQ issues for both equip- ment and employees are laser coding, marking, cutting, decorating, solder- ing, cleaning, coating, sealing, labora- tory processes, and printing. All of these generate unacceptable amounts of particulates, VOCs or both. Almost all laser operations gen-
erate respirable dust in the form of laser-generated airborne contami- nants (LGACs) in some way or another. Most laser processes also generate VOCs from the laser’s interaction with the target substrate. In laser marking, coding, cut-
ting, and decorating processes, at the point of contact (POC) of a laser beam and substrate there is com- plete oxidation resulting in carbon
and H20. A short distance from the POC there is vaporization. Further away there is ablation — the removal of solid, semi-solid or liquid particles and droplets. The laser beam raises the temperature of the air at the point of contact to between 1,500 and
Continued on next page
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