Indoor air quality is always of concern in the ceramic manufacturing environment. Although OSHA has not established a permissible exposure limit for refractory ceramic fibre, the refractory ceramics industry has established a recommended exposure guideline (REG) of 0.5 fibres per cubic centimetre (f/cm3) of air. OSHA supports this guideline, developed through the industry's voluntary Product Stewardship Program. Thermal Ceramics, a leading producer of high-temperature insulating products, wanted to improve the capture of dust generated during sanding, planing and trimming of its vacuum-formed Kaowool ceramic fibre boards. The firm selected a Gold Series, high-efficiency cartridge dust collection system designed by Air Improvements Resources Inc., the benefits of which are explained in this paper.
