INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS NATIONAL HAZMAT PROGRAM - MILWAUKEE WORM DRIVE CIRCULAR SAW OENHP{number_sign}: 2001-02, 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 Milwaukee worm drive circular saw was assessed on August 14, 2001. 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 Milwaukee worm drive circular saw is a hand-held tool with a 7 1/4-inch diameter circular blade for cutting wood. The saw contains a fixed upper and a retractable lower blade guard to prevent access to the blade during use. The unit is operated with an on/off guarded trigger switch; and is supported with a handgrip mounted on top of the saw. An adjustable lever sets the depth of cut. The retractable blade guard permits blind or plunge cuts and protects from blade access during shutdown and blade coast. Kickback, the sudden reaction to a pinched blade, is possible when using this saw and could cause the saw to lift up and out of the work piece 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. Personal noise sampling indicated that one worker was near the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Action Level of 85 decibels (dBA) while the other was at the Action Level with time-weighted averages (TWA's) of 82.7 and 84.6 dBA, respectively. 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. Air sampling was performed while the workers dismantled the fiberglass-reinforced crates. The total nuisance dust sample for the Milwaukee circular saw was 36.07 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m{sup 3}), which is much higher 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}. Galson Laboratories considered the fiber analysis void due to the overloading of the filter. The PEL for fiberglass is 1 fiber per cubic centimeter (f/cc).
- 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:
- 792083
- Report Number(s):
- FC26-01NT41118-07; TRN: US0200725
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 5 Jan 2002
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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