| 70. | Wood dust is a general term covering a wide variety of airborne wood dusts. The health effects of wood dust differ between the dust generated from the processing of different species of trees. Specific species of both hard and soft woods induce sensitisation and so the categorisation of woods into hard and soft woods to indicate relative toxicity is not useful. For this reason, OELs are indicated by species and not hard/soft wood categorisation. Oak and beech are listed with an A1 (confirmed human) carcinogenic potential and birch, mahogany, teak and walnut are listed with an A2 (suspected human) carcinogenic potential by the ACGIH. For further information on the health effects of woods refer to the HSE (UK) Woodworking Sheet No. 30 and the ACGIH TLVs and BEIs, Appendix D, which provides information on tree species suspected of inducing sensitisation. Dust is generated by the machining and working of wood and wood-containing materials such as chipboard and fibreboard. Operations such as sawing, turning and routing produce relatively coarse dust, while sanding and assembly operations generate fine dust. |
