Abrasives health and safety
View the abrasive safety assessment guideBe aware of the workplace hazards your employees face on a daily basis
Help protect your employees from long-term workplace health and safety hazards and learn how you can take action to help deliver safer and more protective workplace equipment. Using abrasive tools and equipment can be dangerous as it involves tasks such as grinding, cutting, weld removal, polishing and finishing on different materials from metal to fibre reinforced composites. Every company should complete a thorough risk assessment to understand and identify potential abrasive risks and define actions to mitigate them.
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1. Modify tasks or workspaces to remove hazards
2. Replace hazardous material, equipment, or activities with less hazardous ones
3. Modify tools or equipment to minimize exposure to hazards
4. Introduce working practices and procedures that remove or lessen risks
5. Protect workers with suitable personal protective equipment (PPE)
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Abrasive hazards
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Inherent in most abrasive processes, the composition, distribution and quality of the particle hazards depends on the workplace and properties of the abrasive product being used.
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Associated with tasks that require excessive bending of the wrists or time on tool.
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Fixed or hand-held abrasive equipment such as grinding wheels create a hazard if they are incorrectly used or if the equipment is damaged.
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Normally defined as unwanted sound and one of the most common health hazards, noise is energy transmitted by pressure variations.
Help reduce abrasive risks with 3M™ Cubitron™ II Abrasives
Designed to cut faster and last longer, these abrasives help reduce exposure to dust, noise and vibration.
