What does smoking marijuana on a regular basis and sand blasting have in common?

Feb 5, 2022
2 min read

Keep on reading to find out.

Sandblasting and Pipedreams Similarities:

Joints, bongs, pipes, or blunts (did I miss any?) regardless of how you smoke it, used on a regular basis can harm lung tissue and cause scaring.
When blasting with sand crystalline, silica reacts with lung tissue by developing fibrotic nodules that cause scarring around the trapped silica particles.
Regular use of "weed" can lead to chronic bronchitis and cause an immune -compromised user to be more susceptible to lung infections.
Regular exposure of silica blasting can cause breathing problems, lung cancer, and silicosis.
Smoke and second-hand smoke from marijuana has many toxins, irritants, and carcinogens.
Silica sand also releases high levels of toxins, heavy metals and harmful chemicals during the blasting process.
Both smoking marijuana and using silica for sand blasting are not recommended by OSHA, NIOSH and the CDC.

Casting the First Stone on "Stoners"

I am not judging or condemning "stoners" to a life of health issues. There is still more research needed on that topic. My point being that these are a few of the reasons why our choice of media is NOT sand and no, we don't smoke marijuana.

I was not stoned when I did this side-by-side comparison of a certain blaster (not using sand) and Laa-Laa the Teletubby, but see the similarities?

Sand and crushed glass also look similar but the differences "get high" marks (pun intended) on our health chart.

The Encyclopedia of Media

Corncob/Cornhusk
Walnut shells
Baking soda
Garnet
Crushed glass or glass beads

These are some of the eco-friendlier options of media for blasting. Crushed glass is usually our main choice.

What's all the "buzz" about Crushed Glass?

Crushed glass is amorphous. Its crystalline structure is closed, making it impossible to stick to lung tissue.
It is approved for use in Federal and State government agencies and military branches.
It is classified by OSHA and NIOSH as only "nuisance" dust because it contains LESS than 1% of free silica and doesn't contain any of the OSHA identified heavy toxic metals.
Plus, it is degradable, non-flammable, and does not leave a negative impact on the environment.

Cotton Mouth Meets Kool-Aid

I'm not bragging up crushed glass like it's an ice cold refreshing glass of Kool-Aid on a hot, humid summer day because unlike Kool-Aid (and sand), crushed glassed and other eco-friendly media options aren't as cheap.

We believe our media expense is worth the cost of safety to our customers, their families, and the environment.

Moral of the Blog Post

Choose a safe, eco-friendly media blasting company (Fox Valley Dustless Blasting, LLC) and if you do smoke weed, choose a safe, eco-friendly option- is organic weed a thing?

Thanks for Reading,

Happily, safely blasting your future endeavors!

-FVDB, LLC

Happy Birthday Bob Marley 2/6/22

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