The tragedy at Burns Lake sawmill could have been prevented...

Burns Lake sawmill explosion and fire

B.C. Premier Christy Clark has ordered a review of the investigation into the Babine Forest Products sawmill explosion and fire in Burns Lake, B.C., that claimed two lives and injured 20 others in January 2012.

The long-awaited WorkSafeBC report released Thursday finds the disaster could have been prevented if mill management had been doing its job.

No criminal charges are being laid, however. Last week, Crown counsel revealed it would not bring charges against the owners of the mill, saying WorkSafeBC's investigation didn't follow the rules for conducting criminal investigations and as a result a large amount of evidence would have to be thrown out.

Clark says the people of Burns Lake deserve an explanation.

"That's why I've asked the head of the BC Civil Service, Deputy Minister John Dyable, to review the case  — to review the fact pattern, come back and give us the facts so that we know and understand what happened with the investigation and the decisions around it."

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[Read the full WorkSafe B.C. report]

Extreme air pollution hits NE China

Harbin, October 22, 2013. [Photo: Xinhua]

Heavy smog engulfed northeast China this week, forcing schools closures, and disrupting flights and highways. Visibility in the northeastern city of Harbin was severely reduced and the authorities issued alerts for thick smog or fog.

Officials indicated three major causes of the recent environmental crisis: pollution from coal-burning heating systems; farmers' burning crop stalks; and unfavorable weather.
All monitoring stations in the region reported readings above 200 for PM2.5 indicating severe pollution, eight times higher than safe levels recommended by the World Health Organization.

Harbin is famous for its ice and snow festival which attracts a large number of visitors every year, but the city's frigid winter means that heating is needed for six months of the year. Pushed by big variations in temperatures between day and night and the start of the winter heating season the coal-fueled heating systems are suspected to be trigger of this week events.

While Harbin's recent air pollution issues made the headlines worldwide this week, the situation is not isolated as many cities in Northern China rank among the most polluted in the world.
The Chinese authorities issued earlier this week an educational guide to inform the population on the health risks caused by environmental pollution and ways to minimize the exposure to airborne contaminants.

The Peking Union Medical College and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention recently released a study suggesting that outdoor and indoor air pollution are the fourth- and fifth-biggest disease-causing factors in China.

Air is one of the essential ingredients for good health and poor air quality, outdoors and indoors, can damage our health. While the outdoor pollution has global effects that affect us all, it is relatively difficult for individuals to reduce their exposure to airborne contaminates.

As indicated by numerous studies on human exposure to air pollutants, the concentrations of air pollutants may be 2 to 5 times (and up to 100 times) higher indoors than outdoors. Indoor air pollutants have been listed among the top five environmental risks to public health and during the cold season when homes, schools and offices are sealed up to conserve energy, the problem can be magnified.

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3D Printers and Indoor Air Quality

3D Desktop Printer
MakerBot Replicator2

Ideal for rapid prototyping and small scale manufacturing, the 3D printing technology is expanding rapidly fueled by the development of low-cost desktop 3D printers.

3D printing (or Additive manufacturing) is an additive process known as molten polymer deposition (MPD) where very thin layers of thermoplastic are melted successively deposited on a baseplate by a computer controlled heated nozzle. As the thermoplastic hardens, the baseplate moves to the next layer, and the process continues until the desired 3D object is created.

There are several types of thermoplastics suitable for this process (polyvinyl alcohol - PVA, polycarbonate - PC, high-density polyethylene - HDPE) but most desktop 3D printers utilize either acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) or polylactic acid (PLA).

Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) is a tough thermoplastic with a very good impact resistance and shock absorbance. In the 3D printing process the acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) prints at approximately 220 °C nozzle temperature and 80 °C baseplate temperature.

Polylactic acid or polylactide (PLA) is a thermoplastic derived from organic renewable sources such as corn starch and it prints at nozzle temperatures of about 180 °C and room temperature for the baseplate.

Recent studies on thermal processing of thermoplastics indicate that both gases and particles are emitted during the manufacturing processes. The main byproducts of the ABS thermal decomposition include carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide and a variety of volatile organics (VOC), all being well-known health hazards.

Another potential concern is the ultrafine particles (UFP), particles less than 100nm generated during the 3D printing process.

The authors of the “Ultrafine particle emissions from desktop 3D printers” study conducted a series of measurements on UFP concentrations resulting from the operation of several desktop 3D printers operating in a small office. The results indicated both ABS and PLA thermoplastics emit relatively high concentrations of ultrafine particles (UFP) and proper filtration is recommended.

UFPs are the main constituent of airborne particulate matter and due to their ability to penetrate deep within the lung and deposit in head’s airways, are a major health concern.

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Experimental studies have shown that ultrafine particles are capable to pass through skin, enter the bloodstream from the lungs and cross cellular membranes. It was also indicated that the toxicity could increase as the particle size decreases due to increased surface area.

Even if components of certain UFPs are not very toxic, exposure to high concentrations may cause oxidative stress, inflammatory mediator release, and could induce lung disease and other systemic effects.

With a fast growing user base and sold without proper filtration, the 3D printers could expose the operators to serious health hazards.
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