Abrasive Blasting
Abrasive blasting (sandblasting) strips paint, rust and coatings with high-pressure abrasive. It creates huge amounts of dust that can contain silica, lead and other toxic metals.
- Construction
- General Industry
Photo: blaster in a supplied-air blast helmet inside containment
Top hazards
- Silica from sand and from the surface being blasted. See Silica.
- Lead, chromium, cadmium and other metals in old coatings
- High-pressure hose whip and nozzle injuries
- Extreme noise
- Carbon monoxide in the breathing air supply if the compressor intake is contaminated
Key practices
- Use less-toxic abrasives instead of silica sand where possible, and use containment and dust collection.
- Wear a NIOSH-approved Type CE supplied-air blast helmet, with Grade D breathing air and a CO monitor or alarm on the air supply.
- Use a dead-man control on the nozzle; secure hose couplings with whip checks.
- Wear hearing protection and heavy protective clothing.
- Keep other workers out of the blast area, and decontaminate before breaks and leaving.
Where blasting happens
Blasters prepare steel bridges, tanks, ships, pipelines, structural steel and concrete for new coatings. Work may be done in a blast room, inside containment on a bridge, in a tank, or out in a yard. Pot tenders, helpers and painters working nearby are exposed too.
Abrasives and what they release
| Abrasive | Main concern |
|---|---|
| Silica sand | Crystalline silica; many owners and countries ban it for blasting |
| Coal slag and copper slag | Can contain arsenic, beryllium and other metals |
| Garnet, steel grit, aluminum oxide | Lower silica, but still dusty; the coating being removed may be toxic |
| Crushed glass | Low free silica, but still a nuisance dust |
| Water jetting and wet abrasive | Less dust, but high-pressure injection hazards |
Check the SDS for every abrasive. Whatever you blast off the surface (like lead paint) ends up in the dust too.
The blast helmet and breathing air
- Use a NIOSH-approved Type CE supplied-air respirator made for abrasive blasting, with an outer lens and cape.
- Breathing air must meet Grade D quality. Place the compressor intake away from engine exhaust and blast dust.
- Oil-lubricated compressors need a high-temperature alarm or a carbon monoxide alarm, and the air should be monitored for CO.
- Change lenses and capes when damaged. Never lift the helmet inside the blast area.
Pre-blast checklist
- Dead-man control on the nozzle works
- Hoses, couplings and whip checks in good condition
- Blast pot, valves and pressure relief inspected
- Equipment grounded to prevent static shocks
- Breathing air tested; CO alarm working
- Containment, dust collection and signs in place
- Hearing protection worn under the helmet
- Wash station and clean change area available
Standards & references
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