Think of airborne contaminants in the workplace, and your mind likely turns to dust, smoke, or fumes. If your work involves working with metal, it’s highly likely that there is another type of hazard lingering in the air – oil mist. Because of this, this article will explain why you need an oil mist extraction system in your workplace.
Oil mist is a fine fog made up of tiny droplets of atomised oil.
These droplets can hang suspended in the air above machinery in your workshop, before being inhaled by employees, or settling on machinery, clothing, and surfaces.
Without even the most basic ventilation systems, oil mist can accumulate and present a serious hazard, not only to health, but to the safety of employees and property alike.
As you’re about to find out, an oil mist extraction system is the only way to fully mitigate against this hazard.
But first, let’s explore the ways in which oil mist can be hazardous.
Look at any MSDS for cutting fluid, light oils, lubricants, degreasers, and dressings, and you’ll see various hazard ratings, and the effects of exposure to the oil via inhalation, ingestion, eye contact, and skin contact.
To save you digging out your latest MSDS on file, here’s a summary:
The effect of breathing in oil mist can vary depending on the type of oil, and extent of exposure � however, can include respiratory irritation, inflammation of the lungs, and allergic reactions
In some cases, the inhaled oil can reach the bloodstream via the lungs, causing systemic effects on other organs within the body.
Long term exposure can cause chronic bronchitis or occupational lung disease.
An oil mist extraction system, capturing oil at source, will be your first line of defence against these health problems.
Ingestion and eye contact are less likely, however, can happen if oil mists are allowed to settle on food and drink within the work area, as well as residues left on workers hands, fingers, and face.
Ingestion can cause gastrointestinal irritation, in the form of nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhoea.
Eye contact can cause irritation and redness, vision problems and conjunctivitis.
We haven’t even started to look at fire risk and property damage – yet you should already be able to see why an oil mist extraction system is crucial for ensuring the health and wellbeing of your employees.
It goes without saying that a cloud of flammable fluid lingering in the workplace is dangerous.
One unprotected flame, and you’re looking at a genuine explosion, capable of destroying an entire building and killing your workers inside.
Oil mist will eventually settle on machinery and surfaces, causing a slippery, flammable residue.
When combined with other fuels such as wood dust, textiles, or paper products, you have a bonfire in your workshop just waiting to be lit.
An effective oil mist extraction system will remove the oily fog before it has a chance to settle and form a fuel for fire.
As mentioned earlier, the oil mist can settle onto your workplace machinery, as well as surfaces such as floors and desks.
On the one hand, this residue may form a handy rust-proofing coat for your work equipment.
However, it may also corrode other parts, depending on what is in the oil, degrade greased components, and attract other contaminants such as dust and grit which will work their way into the fine mechanical components of your machinery.
Oily residues can cause floors to become dangerously slippery, creating a risk of slips, trips, and falls; and if allowed to settle on desks can cause cross contamination of food and drink, ruin paperwork, and generally make productive, effective work more difficult.
You could work around this problem by increasing housekeeping – however, it is far easier to use an oil mist extraction system to prevent the oil from accumulating and settling in the first place.
It’s unlikely that an employee is going to pick up a jerry can of degreaser and start knocking it back – it’s more likely that they will come into contact with the oil in the form of a mist, during work activities, such as setting up equipment, machining and working products, and maintaining and repairing machinery.
The oil mist can be generated in a number of ways.
An oil mist extraction system may be used to capture the oil at source, in the case of metalworking machines, or generally scrub the air, removing the oil mist and replacing it with clean or filtered air.
At Fumex, we’re pleased to offer a range of off-the-shelf and bespoke oil mist extraction systems to help you manage the risk of oil vapours in the workplace.
Our flagship model features a 3 metre positionable arm (allowing you to position the nozzle at the source of the oil mist), duct connections allowing fitment to a range of fixed installations, and smooth rolling castors, to allow easy movement and stowage around the workshop.
All of our oil mist extraction systems feature a HEPA H13 filter with 5-step filtration – meaning the exhausted air is safe to breathe.
Manometers enable you to determine air extraction efficiency; oil collector baths can all be removed quickly and easily, allowing you to re-use or dispose of the oil quickly, minimising production downtime.
Our in-house engineers are well experienced and positioned to design a bespoke oil mist extraction system, customised for your work area or activities – so don’t hesitate to ask for a special design.
An oil mist lingering in your workplace will loom over your employees, threatening their health, exposing them to unnecessarily high safety risk, and reducing their productivity.
You can easily eliminate this hazard, (something which health and safety law requires you to do as an employer) very easily, with an oil mist extraction system from Fumex. Get in touch today to see how we can help design and implement an extraction system for your workplace.
