Paint Booths and Safety: What You Should Know
By: Y. Black
Paint booth owners and operators are rigorously regulated. They must comply with a host of regulations – from the federal level right on down to the state level. These vary from municipality to municipality. When in doubt, follow local regulations, as they take precedence over other sets of laws.
Paint booth owners are heavily regulated to protect employees, as well as the environment. Following is some advice on how to stay in compliance with all laws and regulations.
Meet with Fire Department: Just like in any other public facility, a fire marshal should inspect your paint booth to make sure it is up to code. Because paint booths use chemicals in confined environments, a fire can start easily and/or inhalation problems can cause harm to workers.
Fire departments are trained to handle just these kinds of situations in case of emergency. And, they are adept at dispensing information on how to prevent these situations altogether. A Fire Marshal will check such tangibles as installation, ventilation, safety procedures, worker equipment, materials used, etc.
If the fire marshal is not available and/or doesn’t handle this duty for your municipality, they will be able to advise you on who does. In most cases, if it’s not the fire marshal, it’s a county building inspector who will come out.
Exhaust Chambers: Exhaust chambers are extremely important in paint booths. They protect workers from the ingestion of harmful fumes and vapors. OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) sets specific airflow guideline requirements that must be followed. This not only protects employees, but the environment as well.
Reputable vendors of quality paint booths will be able to explain the guidelines to you and will only offer systems that follow all mandated laws.
Worker Safety Wear: To guard clothing and skin from the chemicals used in paint booths, workers should were protective gear.
To protect the skin, goggles should always be worn. Because of the amount of particulates in the air, they should have enclosed sides and should be airtight. Also, rubber gloves, enclosed shoes and long-sleeve shirts are strongly suggested. To protect clothing, a pull-on jumpsuit is ideal.
“Green” Paint Shops: Doing Our Part for the Environment
Everyone is doing more to protect the environment these days. Paint shops are no different. Following are a few of the ways they are “going green.”
Cleaning Solutions: Many shops are starting to use water-based cleaning solutions, as opposed to mineral-based spirits, to clean their equipment. This means less chemicals in paint booths overall.
Water-based Paints: Continuing with the water-based theme, this is one of the biggest ways paint shops can go green pretty effortlessly. Using water-based paints reduces the need to use powerful cleaning chemicals. Water cleans water pretty effectively.
Worker Training: Properly trained workers use less paint in booths. This not only saves the environment, it saves money as well. Hence, it’s one of the best investment paint shop owners can make.
Paint shop owners, like all businesses, are equally concerned about the environment and are doing their part to make it a safer, greener planet for us all.
Article Source: http://www.ezarticles.info
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