[TheForge] Chip forge

[Bruce Freeman]

Okay, here's the fact:  ANY dust or fibre, sufficiently small (e.g., <=~5 micron = 5 micrometers =~ 0.2 thousanths of an inch) will get into your lungs and stay there.  A few things, like sugar, will dissolve and be no problem (unless they suffocate you - drown you in fluids, actually - first).  Even things like glass fibers are reputed to dissove eventually in the lungs, but I wouldnt' bet my health on it.

So, the best advice is to keep stuff OUT of your lungs.

Fortunately, most of us have excellent natural defences to the ordinary sorts of dusts that occur in nature (and these can be considerable).  These defences consist of the cilia in the bronchae and the mucus that constantly comes up from the lungs, carrying particles that stick to it.  Pretty sophistocated stuff, really, is snot.  So, for the MOST part, you don't have anything to worry about.  

(Of course, those of you who smoke tobacco have killed off most of those cilia.  STOP SMOKING and the cilia will grow back!)

Apparently, certain kinds of asbestos are different in that they cause cancer, not just dust-related problems (e.g., silicosis).  These are particularly bad actors, but are not typical of all dusts.

Bottom line:  If you're working with dusty stuff, keep it out of your lungs.  I would consider a chip forge fire, even with potential dust, to be much less hazardous than a coal fire.  Coal also gives off dust, and coal-fire byproduces (e.g., smoke) are known to cause cancer.  If you can avoid those, it should be easy to avoid problems from a chip forge, which burns much more cleanly.

Don't take safety for granted, but misplaced safety concerns can be more harmful than helpful.

And, BTW, alumina is one of the hardest stuffs around.  I can't say an alumina sphere would NOT be friable (dusty), but I see no reason to assume it would be.

Bruce
NJ

>>> sos at alum.mit.edu 3/7/2006 7:25:29 PM >>>

So a different question. Fibrous insulation can give off particulates 
which aren't good for the lungs. How about ceramic balls, particularly 
(I had to put it that way) home made ones? They're going to get a lot of 
abrasion, being shovelled around all the time.

Steve
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