INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS NATIONAL HAZMAT PROGRAM - PORTER-CABLE CIRCULAR SAW OENHP: 2001-04, VERSION A
Florida International University's (FIU) Hemispheric Center for Environmental Technology (HCET) evaluated five saws for their effectiveness in cutting specially prepared fiberglass-reinforced plywood crates. These crates were built as surrogates for crates that presently hold radioactively contaminated glove boxes at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Los Alamos facility. The Porter-Cable circular saw was assessed on August 15-16, 2001 (Porter-Cable No.1 and Porter-Cable No.2, respectively). During the FIU test of efficacy, a team from the Operating Engineers National Hazmat Program (OENHP) evaluated the occupational safety and health issues associated with this technology. The Porter-Cable saw is a straightforward machine for cutting wood of varying thickness. The blade is fully guarded with a fixed upper and a lower retractable guard. The lower guard retracts as the blade engages the work piece. The unit is operated with an on/off guarded trigger switch and is supported with a handgrip mounted near the front of the saw. The saw is equipped with a directional nozzle, which aims sawdust away from the operator and the line of cut. An optional vacuum system, attached to the directional nozzle, is used to remove and collect dust. During the demonstration of Porter-Cable No.1, personal noise sampling indicated that one worker was under and one was at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Action Level of 85 decibels (dBA) with time-weighted averages (TWA's) of 82.7 and 84.6 dBA, respectively. During the demonstration of Porter-Cable No.2, however, both workers did exceed the Action Level with TWA's of 89.7 and 90.0 dBA. These data are not entirely representative as they were gathered during a simulation and not at the actual worksite. Additional sampling should be conducted on-site, but the workers should wear hearing protection until it is determined that it is no longer necessary. The total nuisance dust sample for Porter-Cable No.1 was 3.53 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m{sup 3}), which is lower than the OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) of 15 mg/m{sup 3} and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists' (ACGIH) Threshold Limit Value (TLV) of 10 mg/m{sup 3}. Porter-Cable No.2's nuisance dust results yielded a value of 22.05 mg/m{sup 3}, which is over the PEL and TLV. The fiber analysis for the first demonstration yielded 12.9 fibers per cubic centimeter (f/cc), which is much higher than the PEL of 1 f/cc. Galson Laboratories considered the fiber analysis for the second demonstration void due to the overloading of dust on the filter. Kickback, the sudden reaction to a pinched blade, is possible with this saw and could cause the saw to lift up and out of the work piece and toward the operator. Proper work position and firm control of the saw minimizes the potential for a sprain or strain. Care needs to be exercised to support the work piece properly and to not force the tool.
- Research Organization:
- National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, Morgantown, WV, and Albany, OR (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FC26-01NT41118
- OSTI ID:
- 792084
- Report Number(s):
- FC26-01NT41118-08; TRN: US200205%%58
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 15 Jan 2002
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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