MDF formaldehyde levels

[sploo]

I've been doing a bit of research into respiratory protection and general safety for cutting MDF. I've found some useful info (listed below) but there's one thing on which I'm not quite clear - I'm hoping that some people here will be working in commercial wood shops, will therefore be under 'official' guidance/laws, and may be able to answer.

Most of this is UK centric, due to the fact I'm living in Blighty...

• A fair chunk of the info below is from the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE): Frequently Asked Questions - MDF and Frequently Asked Questions
• See also: European approach to particleboard and MDF adhesives (George Mantanis) - Academia.edu
• A very 'pro MDF' article, but some useful info: http://www.wpif.org.uk/uploads/publi...and%20safe.pdf
• Info on protection levels: JSP :
• Workplace Exposure Limit (WEL) for softwood dust is 5mg/m^3 for 8 hours of exposure. MDF is currently classed the same as softwood, apart from an Australian perspective (http://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/worksa..._wood_dust.pdf), which treats it as per hardwood dust (at 1mg/m^3)
• HSE suggest Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) with an Assigned Protection Factor (APF) of 10 or more for wood dust.
• HSE indicate RPE is an extra, and should not be relied upon alone (i.e. use dust extraction at source)
• Max exposure limit for formaldehyde is 2ppm (2.5mg/m^3) for any exposure time. >=0.8ppm is detectable by humans (due to the odour). Aussie limits above are lower.
• The 'E1' ?German? standard for MDF is low formaldehyde (release is less than 0.1ppm from these boards). For E2 boards it's between 0.1 and 0.3ppm
• According to U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (An Update On Formaldehyde: 1997 Revision), MDF in conformance with ANSI A208.2-1994 are low formaldehyde emission levels
• According to the Wickes website (UK hardware supplier) their MDF is "Responsibly sourced and E1 emissions compliant"
• The HSE note: "..., the levels of free formaldehyde in boards made within the EU at levels of formaldehyde class E1 are thought to be insignificant. This is because at these levels the resin is fully reacted (polymerised)"
• However, they also note: "RPE comes in three types FFP1 (4x protection), FFP2 (10x protection) and FFP3 (20x protection). FFP3 is the most advisable type to have if you are exposed to high levels of dust and one combined with an organic vapour filter will also provide protection against any formaldehyde vapours that are present."
• I've also spotted "a suitable dust mask is one that is CE marked to at least EN149 FFP2 (the European Standard to which dust masks are manufactured)"

So, the question to those in the know is; when CNC milling MDF, is dust filtering alone considered sufficient, or should we also be looking for RPE that provides protection against formaldehyde gas?

I spoke to a UK based 3M rep about their Versaflo TR-315 Powered Air Starter Kit (dust only) vs. their Jupiter Powered Air Turbo Unit (dust and gas). He indicated that formaldehyde protection was only required for workers making MDF. For cutting, the dust only unit would be fine. Can anyone else confirm/contradict this?

[bobsch]

Personally, I'm more worried about inhaling the dust than any formaldehyde exposure.

[ger21]

I've worked in commercial shops for almost 20 years, and it's rare for someone to even wear a $1 dust mask.

At home, if I'm cutting MDF on the table saw for more than 10 minutes, I might put a mask on.

[Geof]

...The HSE note: "..., the levels of free formaldehyde in boards made within the EU at levels of formaldehyde class E1 are thought to be insignificant. This is because at these levels the resin is fully reacted (polymerised)" ...

This is the answer to your question.

There is negligible formaldehyde released from MDF unless you start burning it so you really don't need to worry about activated carbon filters.

Certainly you should trap as much of the dust as possible and for prolonged work it is a good idea to wear a dust mask. For brief exposure with good dust collection and good ventilation wearing a mask is not essential.

[sploo]

Many thanks for the responses. I've also been looking at the Trend AirShield Pro, which claims (on the box) to be suitable for MDF. It's rated the same as the 3M (TH2) and their rep echoed 3M's position that this level of dust only protection is now OK for MDF.

> Personally, I'm more worried about inhaling the dust than any formaldehyde exposure

I think I'm there too now. Enough different people have indicated that it's OK, even where they could charge me more for a product with gas protection.

> I've worked in commercial shops for almost 20 years, and it's rare for someone to even wear a $1 dust mask

Naughty

> Certainly you should trap as much of the dust as possible

Absolutely. This doesn't show the CNC machine, but I'd handled this as well as I'm likely to be able to quite a while back: Dust Extraction

I think the problem is that you'll always get some dust escaping, and, of course, occasionally you "just do a quick cut" and don't fire up the extractor (dumb, yes, I know).

I believe I have gotten quite sensitised to the dust, as even a couple of hours in the workshop gives me some flu like symptoms (sore throat etc.) so I'm wanting to add some personal protection. I'm happy enough the dust only ones are sufficient, so I'll probably bleed my bank balance pretty soon!

[Geof]

Originally Posted by sploo ......I believe I have gotten quite sensitised to the dust, as even a couple of hours in the workshop gives me some flu like symptoms (sore throat etc.) so I'm wanting to add some personal protection. I'm happy enough the dust only ones are sufficient, so I'll probably bleed my bank balance pretty soon!

If you are getting these symptoms with relatively short exposure it could mean you are a person who is extra sensitive. People do differ in the way they are affected by dusts and vapors.

It might be a good idea to become somewhat paranoid and get a full respirator. Bulky and awkward and not cheap but a big bank account doesn't help much in the future if you are not healthy enough to enjoy it.

[sploo]

Thanks Geof.

I tried a Trend AirShield Pro. Heavy, but seems OK. Given it's got the same filter protection (apparently) as the more expensive 3M product I've ordered one today.

In the long term, I might look into creating some form of powered air supply (pumping fresh air from outside). If that worked, I'd probably order the 3M M-106 helmet (looks like an AirShield but with no motor or filters - very light, and pretty cheap). The 3M helmet takes a tube (from a belt mounted filtered blower) but I expect a suitable clean air supply from outside would be even better.

Fair bit of work to do that properly of course (safe pump, static pressure losses in a longer tube, safely mounting the tube etc). In the meantime, the Trend should offer some decent level of protection - certainly better than the basic face mask... or nothing... I sometimes use.

[sploo]

OK, well I bought a Trend AirShield Pro. I've used it for one job of ~5 hours duration. The weight is apparent, but I didn't find it a problem. I wouldn't want to be doing a job where I had to repeatedly lean forward to pick stuff up (helmet moves a bit) but it wasn't too bad.

I'm a glasses wearer - which gives me huge problems with some of the rubber half face masks - and I'm pleased to say it was OK too.

The airflow is good, though I did find the motor fairly loud.

I was mostly cutting plastic not MDF, but there's plenty of dust in my workshop that usually 'gets me', and I did a bit of a clean up while the CNC machine was running. No problems of sore throat etc. to report, so an impressive start.

After the job, I left the helmet switched on to check the run time, and after a total of 8.5 hours it was still going (with an admittedly brand new battery).

The only problem, and one that's been identified by others, is that the clip on ear defenders (a separate accessory) aren't designed too well. I can't get any real pressure on them over the ears, and found that the material cover that goes around your head & chin gets in between the ear cups and your ears - reducing the seal.

In the end I used a pair of foam ear plugs, with the ear defenders providing a little extra protection. That's something I'll definitely need to fix, as a router + dust extractor in a concrete walled shed is not pleasant.

Looking at the design, I suspect it wouldn't be that hard to rig up an external power supply, such that you wouldn't need the battery (saving weight and guaranteeing power, albeit with a lead hanging off the back). It would also be possible I think to remove the motor & filter sections to add an external (powered fresh air) feed, though it would require hacking the helmet cover, so I'd probably just buy the 3M helmet if I ever built an external feed.

Overall though, a decent start.

[Kevin45]

If I may reply about MDF......I was doing some work summer before last in my home garage butting quite a bit of MDF trim. And like many, I did not have a mask on. A few weeks later I developed a cough so I went to the doctor. He in turn sent me for x-rays, which in turn came back as having a mass on my lung, upper right lobe. To cut a story short, I had a Bronchoscopy, PET Scan, CT Scans, and they wanted to remove a portion of my right lung. I was finally over my cough but something was still showing up although not as big.
I was on the operation table waiting to be opened up, but the doctor wanted to do one more CT Scan. This time nothing showed up, so he ran another. Clear. What all of the doctors had been seeing all along was not a Cancerous tumor, but they were seeing an infection caused by breathing in MDF dust.

So anytime that you cut MDF, don't just use a paper filter mask, pick up a respirator with good filters (like they use in painting) to catch the dust. I spent months thinking I was going to have to have a third of my lung removed and had spoke with all kinds of specialist. It not only cost me thousands out of my pocket, it also cost my insurance company thousands out of theirs.