Just found out MDF dust has a worse safety limit than I thought

I was reading through some OSHA stuff last night for a shop I'm quoting in Phoenix. Turns out the legal limit for MDF dust is way lower than regular wood dust because of the formaldehyde binders. Like 1/5th the allowable amount per cubic foot of air. I had no idea it was that different. I've been running the same dust collection setup for everything this whole time. How many of you actually change your dust collection plan when switching from plywood to MDF?

3 comments

3 Comments

maxl937d ago

Man, I gotta push back a bit here. The actual risk from MDF dust is way overblown unless you're breathing it in for years with zero protection. A good shop vac with a HEPA filter and a basic respirator handles the difference way better than most people think.

theajohnson7d ago

Four years of working in a custom cabinet shop with zero ventilation and a half mask that didn't fit right has me feeling like I'm basically pickling my lungs for science. I'll take your word on the HEPA vac setup because my current rig is basically a dog that's scared of the shop vac turning on. Still, you're probably right that the panic around MDF dust is more about the scary sounding name than the actual numbers.

jana7697d ago

Wait, are you saying the formaldehyde in MDF isn't actually what makes it nasty, or that breathing in fine dust for years just doesn't matter? I've seen guys in shops hacking up brown stuff after a week of sanding that stuff without a mask, so I'm not totally buying the "overblown" take.