Will there be a lot of dust in the air? This is one of the questions that we hear the most before starting a job. And our answer is, no. Naturally you would think that the process of prepping concrete would create a dust cloud so large that you would not be able to see through it, and that you would be cleaning up the remnants for months. With our process and engineering controls that just is not the case.
99% of our projects require the use of propane powered or an electric powered floor grinder for either surface preparation, coatings removal or concrete polishing. We use the latest technology in commercial vacuums and dust collection to extract and contain the concrete dust that is created though the grinding process.
All of our vacuums utilize HEPA filtrations systems. HEPA stands for “High Efficiency Particulate Air”, and to be qualified as HEPA the filter must remove 99.97% of particles that have a size of 0.3 micrometers/microns. For some reference the thickness of a human hair is normally between 17 and 180 micrometers. Our vacuums use multistage filtering with pre-separators, multiple HEPA filters, and contained bag systems to trap the dust particles.
This is not just important from a cleanliness stand point, but also from a SAFETY standpoint. The dust that is caused by concrete grinding is Crystalline Silica which is a known human carcinogen. If inhaled into the lungs Crystalline Silica cannot be dispersed by the body, and it will stay in the lungs becoming scar tissue,obstructing the lungs ability to take in oxygen. Therefore, we do not want you to breath in the dust nor do we want to breath it.
OSHA has recently put in place new requirements regarding Crystalline Silica containment, which will go into effect September 2017, but we have been operating under the newly required safety methods for years. And we will continue to go above and beyond the required safety measures to protect our clients and employees.
