Advanced Zero-Leakage Blast Enclosure

ABSTRACT:The objective of this SBIR Phase II effort is to build upon work successfully completed in phase I by developing and demonstrating a prototype blast cabinet (BC) that effectively contains hazardous dusts and maintains their concentrations below Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) permissible exposure limits (PEL), thereby reducing occupational exposure risks to chromium(VI), cadmium, and iron oxide.The prototype BC shall be engineered according to recommendations developed in the Phase I effort, in addition to the construction and performance standards defined by MIL-PRF-32037 and OSHA 1910.94.The capability of the prototype to contain and mitigate dust levels below OSHA PELs shall be demonstrated.BENEFIT:Occupational exposure to chromium(VI) (Cr6+) is eight times more likely to result in cancer than asbestos. Workers are exposed to airborne Cr6+ when they inhale the dust from aged coatings that are stripped by abrasive blasting inside blast cleaning rooms (BCR) with insufficient airflow. Simply increasing airflow to reduce exposure is an expensive proposition. Energy costs increase exponentially when fixed parameter airflow is used to mitigate airborne toxin exposure. Therefore, there is an urgent need to manage exposure at reasonable cost.