Building Materials Industries

Content

The main danger in the ceramics industry as in the concrete industry is silica.
Whatever the products manufactured (tiles, bricks, sanitary ware, etc.), the raw materials and basic processes are identical: the raw materials (mainly clay and kaolin for the former or concrete for the latter), which are siliceous, are crushed, mixed and then moistened to be moulded and fired. 
The resulting pieces can then undergo various finishing stages, including glazing.
All stages of manufacture are concerned by exposure to silica, as well as workers working in jobs ancillary to production but present in the manufacturing workshop (furnace maintenance, maintenance...)

Crystalline silica dust is classified as a carcinogen and the TLVs have been set since 2008 at 0.1 mg/m3 for respirable quartz dust and 0.05 mg/m3 for respirable cristobalite and tridymite dust.

This implies additional requirements for the employer in terms of risk assessment, implementation of preventive measures and control of worker exposure. 

The firing phase of these materials adds the problem of heat and smoke to the ongoing dust emission. Ventilation and airing of the workplaces play an essential role in limiting the concentration of all the vapours in the ambient air and evacuating them from the workplaces. 
The proximity of a heat source can lead to headaches, hypersudation, tachycardia, hypotension and discomfort due to dehydration and circulatory disorders.

The rules relating to the sanitation of working environments and respect for the environment impose constraints concerning both the rates of rejection and the protection of operators, improving productivity and at the same time reducing costs. 

This is the mission and commitment of NEU-JKF Delta NEU 

NEU-JKF Delta NEU develops dedusting solutions to secure the preparation of mixtures, adiabatic air-conditioning to improve the environment of workstations that are highly exposed to heat or to the extraction of polluted air and, finally, centralised cleaning installations to maintain the production tool.