Engineering Controls
Engineering controls include local and general exhaust ventilation, enclosure, encapsulation, component design/redesign, automation, and isolation. Below are examples of engineering controls and a video on how to set up a lead abatement enclosure.
Lead-based paint renovation/abatement exterior containment
- Exhaust Ventilation: Equip power tools used to remove lead-based paint with dust collection shrouds or other attachments so that paint is exhausted through a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) vacuum system. For operations such as welding, cutting/burning, or heating, use local exhaust ventilation. Use HEPA vacuums during cleanup operations.
- Enclosure: For abrasive blasting operations, build a containment structure that is designed to optimize the flow of clean ventilation air past the workers' breathing zones. This will help reduce the exposure to airborne lead and increase visibility. Maintain the affected area under negative pressure to reduce the chances that lead dust will contaminate areas outside the enclosure. Equip the containment structure with an adequately sized dust collector to control emissions of particulate matter into the environment.
- Encapsulation: One way to reduce the lead inhalation or ingestion hazard posed by lead-based paint is to encapsulate it with a material that bonds to the surface, such as acrylic or epoxy coating or flexible wall coverings. Another option is to enclose it using systems such as gypsum wallboard, plywood paneling, and aluminum, vinyl, or wood exterior siding. Floors coated with lead-based paint can be covered using vinyl tile or linoleum.
- Design/Redesign: When applying lead paints or other lead-containing coatings, use a brush or roller rather than a sprayer. This application method introduces
little to no paint mist into the air to prevent a lead inhalation hazard. Here are some additional recommendations to reduce hazard exposures:
- When appropriate for the conditions, choose blasting techniques that are less dusty than open-air abrasive blasting. These include hydro- or wet-blasting using high-pressure water with or without an abrasive or surrounding the blast nozzle with a ring of water, and vacuum blasting where a vacuum hood for material removal is positioned around the exterior of the blasting nozzle.
- When using abrasive blasting with a vacuum hood on exterior building surfaces, ensure that the configuration of the heads on the blasting nozzle match the configuration of the substrate so that the vacuum is effective in containing debris.
- Isolation: Although it is not feasible to enclose and ventilate some abrasive blasting operations completely, it is possible to isolate many operations to help reduce the potential for lead exposure. Isolation consists of keeping employees not involved in the blasting operations as far away from the work area as possible, reducing the risk of exposure.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
2-3. Which of the following is an example of an engineering control to mitigate exposure to lead?
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