Лако-красочные материалы — производство

No discourse on the specification and use of adhesive materials would be complete without referring to safe handling precautions.

Safety aspects should partner the measures practised within a quality system, and they represent a vital part of the education and training of the personnel involved. The history of adhesive bonding has shown that accident and health problems associated with the technology are rare. Nevertheless, any material which is used without suitable precautions can become an unreasonable risk to health, safety, property, and the environment. The actual hazard presented by the use of materials depends not only on its potential hazard, but also on the conditions under which it is used. Concentration and duration of exposure to hazardous materials is generally the critical element in determining risk factors.

Legislation requires the adhesive supplier to label and classify products (as flammable, irritant, harmful, corrosive, or poisonous), as well as including standard risk phrases and safety procedures. Product information sheets must also be supplied in accordance with the Health and Safety at Work Act, detailing a large range of product data and safe handling precautions.

Many engineering adhesives contain no solvents and therefore problems such as solvent abuse or ‘sniffing’ are not present. However, solvents are sometimes used in considerable volume for surface degreasing processes, as well as for cleaning-up operations. Strict control must therefore be exercised over such procedures. Some surface pretreatment processes require the use of acids and other chemicals, for which a hazard is presented both in handling the liquids as well as with the proper disposal of the residues. The common mechanical abrasion techniques used for removing surface detritus and for preparing surfaces (such as grinding, blasting, and so on) also carry an obvious, albeit limited, risk.

On the whole, ‘commonsense’ precautions such as the use of skin and eye protection are sufficient for many applications. It should be remembered that the risks inherent in other surface joining processes such as brazing or welding can be very large, both from the high energy input required and from the resulting fumes. The use of adhesives can therefore improve significantly the safety in certain joining processes.