Powder Paint Safety
- Inevitably, powder coat paint will be deposited inside the paint booth on not only the item being painted, but elsewhere as well. This fact requires cleanup--not only because of the potential waste, but the risk of ignition as well. One of the main methods of cleaning the powder paint is with a vacuum. However, unless the vacuum is grounded, the powder paint can ignite, causing a potentially dangerous explosion. By grounding the vacuum, the risk of ignition is lessened considerably. And, if you adopt the practice of one company, you reserve a canister of the vacuum for each of the three main shades of color, so you will be able to reuse the discarded paint. The exhaust fans must also be resistant to sparks, lessening the danger of ignition.
- When you are working with powder coat paint, you need to be careful to make sure that the proper air/powder concentration is maintained. According to Modean Industries, the air/powder concentration needs to be "well below the 1 square foot of area of enclosed volume minimum explosion concentration (MEC) of the powder being sprayed." The concentration of the powder should not be more than 50 percent of the MEC. If you have 1,000 cubic feet per minute of air, for example, you shouldn't have more than 15 ounces of powder paint.
- Units used to recover powder coat paint need to have a pressure relief value which is capable of providing "1 square foot of area for each 30 cubic feet of enclosed volume," according to Modean Industries. The vents must have ducts that lead directly to the outside. These vents must also be covered with a protective cover, like a cage, so a worker would not be injured if he bumped into the vent.
- Filters on recovery units need to have an alarm that lets you know when the pressure in the filter is too high or too low. When the pressure is too high, the recovery unit should shut off automatically.
- A flame detector needs to be installed in every powder coat paint booth. This system will not only turn on an alarm if flame is detected, but actually turn off the powder paint system.