Coatings are accompanied by various dangerous and harmful elements whether during handling or application. Paints may contain hazardous substances therefore classified as dangerous goods. In the process of application, contact or accidental ingestion may cause injury and disease. These hazardous substances also include thinners, degreasers, paint strippers and dust from surface preparation.
The main hazards during painting operations are fire and explosion, followed by the hazards posed by the equipment used, electricity, pressurized paint, heavy paint containers and noise.
Harmful materials
Hazardous substances include paints, thinners, cleaning agent, degreasers, paint strippers, and products used for surface preparation. Exposure to these harmful substances may cause short-term or long-term health issues.
- Short-term issues include irritant dermatitis; skin and eye burns; vomiting; nose, throat, and lung irritation; headache, dizziness, fatigue.
- Long-term effects such as llergic dermatitis; occupational asthma; reproductive system damage; kidney and liver damage; “painter’s syndrome”, central nervous system damage due to prolonged exposure to solvents etc.
How harmful substances enter the human body
1 – Inhalation and cannibalism
Spraying activities increase exposure to hazardous substances, users are more exposed to hazardous vapors, dust and solvents (clean and contaminated hazardous substances in the cleaning process. Exposure to harmful substances may cause acute and chronic health hazards. Acute hazards may manifest as respiratory tract infections, shortness of breath, dizziness, chest tightness, nausea, headache; chronic hazards may manifest as lung decreased function of the body, respiratory diseases, asthma, emphysema symptoms, central nervous system damage, and sometimes cancer.
Spray Polyurea Elastomer (SPUA) material itself does not contain VOC (volatile organic compounds), does not pollute the environment, does not damage human health. However, due to the characteristics of fast gel and high-pressure operation, it will cause paint fog on the construction site. If the operator absorbs these solid particles, it will damage the operator’s health. If the gel particles fall on the surrounding objects, it will contaminate the equipment and be difficult to remove. Therefore, construction workers are required to wear one-piece protective clothing, masks and respirators.
2 – Direct contact
Spraying activities, touching liquid paint or wet sprayed surfaces can also expose the skin or eyes to direct contact with harmful substances. Eye effects can be a severe burning sensation, skin contact with paint or solvent may result in acute irritant dermatitis or loss of sebum on the skin.
Fire and explosion
Solvent vapors are released during spraying operation, so the use of flammable substances (such as solvents) in spraying increases the risk of fire and explosion. The rapid spread of paint sprays in the work space may encounter many potential ignition sources.
- Open flames (flames, sparks, scorching heat) fireworks inside or outside the painting workplace, welding sparks, overheated surfaces of drying equipment, open flames when lamps break, heated steel plates, hot surfaces of lighting fixtures, equipment, workpieces, pipes , radiators, electric appliances and other high temperature surfaces.
- Electrostatic discharge. The distance between the electrostatic spray gun and workpiece is too close, the equipment, containers and pipelines accumulate static electricity. Poorly grounded equipment releases sparks and arcs generated by static electricity.
- Friction shock. Workpieces, steel tools, containers collide with each other, and exposed metal parts collide with the floor etc., equipment that can generate sparks, such as grinding machines.
- Electrical sparks. Molten metal caused by circuit opening and cutting, open circuit, overload, potential difference of running light rupture, blown fuse, exposed glow wire, etc., portable battery-powered equipment (such as cameras, flashlights, mobile phones, etc.).
- Chemical energy. Spontaneous combustion (such as paint stains and accumulation of heat storage by fibers contaminated with coatings), material mixing violently exothermic reactions (such as polyester coatings and initiators), organic solvents are added when heating coatings, aluminum powder is damp and generate hydrogen to exothermic spontaneous combustion, two-component paint waiting for treatment in a “can”.
- Lightning & sunlight gathering etc. Within limited and poorly ventilated places, the accumulation of flammable gas and dust reaches the explosion limit, it will burn and explode instantly when encountering an ignition source. The flash point of a solvent is an indicator of fire hazard. Flash point is the lowest temperature at a vapor when exposed to a flame in air. The lower the flash point, the greater the fire hazard.
