What do you do for Aluminum Particulate Abatement (serious)

[Hiwatt25]

Don't know if this has been brought up before but I'm curious what others are doing to avoid exposure to Aluminum when working with enclosures.  I love the way polished enclosures look but have some safety concerns.

Specifically, I'm refering to the fine particulate dust that is kicked up when I sand my enclosures.  I happen to work for a company that does Bio-Safety-Level 3 work so I use my work respirator to avoid breathing in the stuff. 

I wear nitrile gloves when sanding (I use a power sander) but I still end up with a dark aluminum dust on my arms and all over my garage. 

I guess I'm fearful that aluminum exposure causes Alzheimers disease but honestly I don't know if that's just BS.

[petemoore]

  A great way to absorb aluminum is by using Anti-Perspirant [check label of more powerful substances]
  A new first-line topical gel treatment for excessive sweating. Developed by dermatologists, Hydrosal is a unique, highly effective formula combining a high concentration of aluminum chloride in a proprietary gel base.
No prescription is required.
  Ah..here's a good one...
  http://www.rense.com/general64/triclo.htm
  Like Mercury they sezz, but lower atomic weight...
  Aluminum absorbtion = Alzheimers [I may have forggotten the spelling there] at some point.
 
 

[davebungo]

I've recently been involved in a very close personal case, where aluminium was suspected as being a culprit in Pulmonary Fibrosis.  What I learned from the experts who attended and gave evidence at the inquest was that Aluminium in it's pure form is dangerous when inhaled but because oxidisation occurs fairly rapidly on exposure to air, it is unusual for it to cause the said condition.  At least that's what they told me.  I have to say that I have my doubts and would not intentionally inhale anything other than the air around me (which I can't particularly avoid).  As far as I'm concerned everyone here should assume that any form of dust and other chemicals are dangerous and should not be inhaled, eaten, absorbed, etc. etc.

[Pushtone]

Water is the best for keeping dust down.
I use an old windex spray bottle filled with soapy water.

I spray down the work peice often.

I sand on an old rug.
The nap of the rug does a good job of holding onto the box so it does not move around
and it collects the run off from the spraying. I have to clamp it to sand the sides.

When the rug is dry I shake it out with my back to the wind.

I also wet drill the aluminum boxes and PCB with the windex spray bottle.
I also wear disposable gloves.

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=44440.0

[petemoore]

I also wet drill the aluminum boxes and PCB with the windex spray bottle.
  I've used shaving cream..grabs all them little bits, then I wipe them out...
  Thing is the sandpaper needs to 'clean itself' anything that'd contain sanding grits would probably retain them in the paper where they'd interfere with the cutting.
  Gloves and wet sanding paper...
  Sanding device with little holes that suck up the grits in the cutting substrate [sandpaper on board with holes drilled in it...to tubes connected to a strong Wet-Vac]?...

[markm]

I wet sand.
Not really for safetyconcerns but because wet sanding does a fantastic job!
I beleive most of the aluminum particles go down the drain.

[idlechatterbox]

In general, avoid getting any alu into your body, regardless of form. Like others have mentioned, it's at least implicated in some fairly serious diseases, and with others the evidence is probably stronger.

One of the most common ways to ingest it in the US is in maalox type products. It's interesting to note that the maalox that I used to see when I lived in quebec made a point of saying (in big letters) "Sans Aluminum!" on the package. I don't know if that's still the case, but it was nice to know at the time.

[brad]

I wet sand too, but don't wear gloves.  I do very little sanding and not much grey crap is ever present because I do it all by hand.  You probably wouldn't want to be exposed to generous amounts of dust on a regular basis though.

Don't forget...millions of people used to cook their dinner in aluminum saucepans (including my family!)

[markm]

I don't know if sanding aluminum without gloves is dangerous.....I can't see that it would be absorbed by the skin of your hands but,
I have been wrong before......ask my wife, she'll tell ya! 

[blanik]

well, the link between Alzheimer and Alu isn't proven yet, but using antiperspirant everyday isn't recommended...

unless you build 20 boxes a day for 6 months in a closed bedroom... it shpouldn't be too bad
the gloves are an excellent idea, i don't use them but i wash my hands frequently when i solder...
(now i order only prepainted enclosures... a lot less trouble...)

(you probably smoke cigarettes and drink budweiser... that'll kill you quicker...  )

R.

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

Aluminum can't be all that dangerous, considering the amount of stuff we have all eaten that was cooked in aluminum pots! And so far as breathing it is concerned, it isn't going to permanently deposit in your lungs like say silica dust does.
I'd agree there are a lot more things to worry about first!

[runmikeyrun]

We're killing ourselves every day with the air we breathe, water we drink, food we eat, and just by generally being alive and interacting with the world.  BUT- that doesn't mean you need to accelerate the process!  I used to do all kinds of stupid things as a kid- work on running cars in a closed garage, eat my lunch without washing my filthy hands as an auto mechanic (and before they all used gloves), not to mention smoking lots and other reckless, dangerous, criminal, and/or harmful behaviors.  After becoming a paramedic, husband, and father i eat organic as much as my budget allows, have gone vegetarian, wear earplugs at practice, try to limit my exposure to fumes from all my 2 stroke motorcycles (even though they smell so good) and among other things, use the natural crystal salt deodorants.  I also use a fan blowing at my soldering station to carry away fumes. 

Keeping from inhaling ANY kind of particulate dust puts you way ahead of the game.  Remember 60 years ago asbestos was thought safe, it was even used in the first air packs for firefighters!  You gotta go with your gut- if it smells bad, tastes bad, makes you cough or get high it's probably not something you want in your body.  Well- maybe some things that do the last two are ok haha.  But aluminum and PCB dust are definitely two things i have on the list.

Crap, i think this was just an admission of getting old!   

[MikeH]

Taking proper safety precaution is a great idea, but there's also no need to scare ourselves to death.

One thing that gets overlooked in these circumstances is that sicknesses that come from metals contamination (Mercury, lead, aluminum - some are worse than others) come from chronic exposure to them.  If you work in a finishing plant, or you're in enviromental clean up or consulting; you're exposed to these things on a regular basis for a long time.  So if you're the type of guy that is sanding enclosures every day or every week you need to protect yourself and clean you work area well.  But if you work on an enclosure once a month... that's a little bit different story. 

And I cannot stress this enough:  You must have an excluded area where you work on these things!  Don't sand your aluminum enclosures where you kids/dogs/cats play and live.  In other words, if you sand regularily, don't sand in your house, where you and your loved ones live and breath and eat and so on.  Definately don't do it where you eat!  Just sanding in your basement isn't good enough either;  You need to take it outside or to the garage where you keep the rest of you carcinogens.  Gasoline is a thousand times more toxic and dangerous to have in your house than a little aluminum dust.

[MartyMart]

Every time I solder/sand/spray or drill , I wear gloves and/or a face mask --- PERIOD !!
I open the window in my work room too when soldering for more than a few minutes.
My smoking habit will get me waaay before the Alu dust does though !!

MM.

[markm]

My smoking habit will get me waaay before the Alu dust does though !!
MM.

Same here Marty.
Curse Sir Walter Raleigh.....such a stupid get! 

[brett]

Hi

I guess I'm fearful that aluminum exposure causes Alzheimers disease but honestly I don't know if that's just BS.

You don't need to worry about aluminium and AD.  If it is a factor, it is at a very low level.  The main factors are genetic (it runs in families) and those of cardi-vascular diseases (of which it is one).  So keep your cholesterol down, your weight down and don't smoke.

Seriously, aluminium is in lots of everyday things.  Ever eat a carrot?  Tofu?  peanuts?  Oh my god, you eaten lots of aluminium.  And because it is one of the most common elements in soil (third after oxygen and silicon), if you want to control aluminium intake, you should stop touching soil or eating food that has touched soil (see carrots, above), or going out on windy days when there will be dust in the air.

However, this is missing the point a little because the original question was about inhaling stuff, not eating it. 

It is probably bad to get any foreign matter in your lungs.  Especially if you smoke, coz your lungs don't clean themselves so well.

cheers

[phillip]

Wear one of the paper dust masks when sanding, and wash your hands promptly after you finish to get the Aluminum dust off and you'll be just fine

Phillip