Safety Week 2009: Hand Tools Make Dust Too

Just because they are hand tools doesn’t mean they don’t make harmful dust. There is no question that the very fine dust is the most harmful, but really that is only because it remains suspended in the air for us to breath it in. The larger particles, settle faster on surfaces and thus for the most part stays out of our lungs. Hand planes and hand saws can create fine dust, especially when working with kiln dried lumber. While not as much the dust menace as power tools, working with hand tools does not allow us to be complacent about protecting our lungs.