Abrasive Blasting and Pollution

Abrasive blasting, also known as sandblasting, is a preparation or cleaning process that shot abrasive material against a surface under high pressure. With the growth of human awareness of protecting the environment, there is a concern that is abrasive blasting bad for the environment. This article is going to discuss whether abrasive blasting is bad for the environment and how people can prevent pollution.

There are so many types of abrasive media, such as; silica sand, plastics, silicon carbide, and glass beads. These abrasive media break down under high pressure during abrasive blasting. Depending on the type of equipment used, the blast angle, the velocity of the blast, and other blast factors, these particles can become extremely small pieces of dust that contain various amounts of silica, aluminum, copper, and other harmful substances. While abrasive blasting, this dust can spread out into the air. These specks of dust not only hurt the human body but also create pollution to the environment. To protect people from breathe-in these dust particles, workers are required to put on PPE.

Dust particles are a significant source of air pollution, and it creates a huge negative impact on the environment. According to the research, negative impacts that these dust particles spread into the air bring to the environment include: changing the weather patterns, climate change, periods of drought, and even causing the oceans to acidify. Moreover, dust particle emissions also trap heat in the atmosphere, and cause the greenhouse effect.

Therefore, if people do not take action, the answer to whether abrasive blasting is bad for the environment is yes. Fortunately, to control these particles spread into the air and protect the environment, there are abrasive blasting regulations and particle control techniques. Under the particulate control techniques, the particle emissions released during blasting can be controlled and reduce damage to the environment.

To protect the environment, all companies should strictly follow dust control techniques.