Don't use brooms. Sawdust causes cancer!

I know I developed asthma after working with wood for several years. There maybe something to this.

My wife is always after me to wear a respirator when I'm working in the garage.

One reason the HSE maybe suggesting to use vacuum cleaners is that everyone in the area would have to wear a respirator.

Another reason maybe that even after the sawdust has been swept up some would still remain in the air.

Still....good advice on your part.

on 7/18/2008 8:31 PM ythread said the following:

I developed asthma after removing the complete interior and jute padding from a 1961 Lincoln Continental without a mask.

Does anyone still use brooms anymore? Most contractors I know use either a Shop-Vac or something that looks like the offspring of an old Kirby and an Electrolux, all on a little rolling cart. (I forget what the actual name of that product is, but it does work well.)

nate

Neither wood nor jute cause asthma. Wood, jute, or just about anything else can cause an asthma ATTACK, but are not the underlying causes. In this regard, asthma is similar to an allergy. Asthma, or more specifically, the sensitivity to certain things is entirely genetic.

Since we aren't really sure what causes cancer (and we know that a lot of cancers are related to long term exposure to irritants) it really isn't a good idea to be constantly exposed to irritants. The article was about a commercial operations not someone sweeping up sawdust after they built a birdhouse.

Also it would be quite unusual to see a commercial shop in the US that didn't have a vacuum collection system in place.

1. New law says shopkeepers must sweep sidewalks in front of their shops.
2. It is against law for non-union people to sweep sidewalks.

I don't know about vacuuming...

What's yellow and sleeps six?

A highway department truck.

Incredible. Damned if anyone would tell me I can't sweep my own sidewalk.

Sorry I missed that "MD" after your name.

lol

You may laugh, but I invented a device that could cut the number of municipal works in half !

The device was essentially a bipod that clamps on to the handle of a shovel or hoe.

My invention's purpose was to keep the tool in an upright position, thereby removing the necessity for hourly workers to stand around a hole being dug.

My city councilman didn't think it was a good idea at all.

Toad.

And you really need to put PHD after yours. That's for Piled High and Deep.

Steve

I'm not an MD, but I am an allergy sufferer. A woodworker getting an attack from the dust of clean new wood is pretty rare, but any heavy intake of dust can cause problems. In the case of the gutted Lincoln, I'd bet the actual allergen was the stuff LIVING IN the sound deadening, not the material itself. The hidden areas of a car get damp on a regular basis. Warm dark damp spaces are where all sorts of common allergens like to breed.

-- aem sends...

That's true. Things ingested into the lungs cannot be flushed out. Think asbestos. If one is allergic to something and it gets into the lungs and does not dissipate by itself, it could cause cancer or permanent medical problems, like asthma.

Here in the USA we have the right to keep and bear brooms. Protected by the second Dummendmant.

Personally, I am very glad the Supreme Court upheld the right to keep and bare arms. I'd hate to wear long sleeved shirts in the Texas summer.

-- Doug

on 7/20/2008 4:00 PM Stormin Mormon said the following:

Don't forget the right to arm bears.

that isn't correct. things of a certain size or certain configuration (asbestos has small hooks that dig in so the fibers won't move, for example) can't be flushed out; things larger can be flushed out of normal, correctly working lungs.