Reducing Dust in the Shop: How Lime Injection Improves Safety

Adding lime to the bath using scrap buckets, top charged bags or conveyors can pose environmental and safety hazards. These methods send fines into the air, which can pose a direct risk to your team if proper safety precautions aren’t taken.

What are the Hazards

When exposed to moisture, lime reacts exothermically, generating significant heat. Direct contact can cause skin irritation, and inhalation of lime dust may cause respiratory irritation. Lime can also cause serious damage if it comes in contact with the eyes. The presence of lime fines on the shop floor can also increase the risk of slips/falls.

Alleviating the Risks

It’s important to ensure that all members of your team are trained on the hazards of lime, wear the proper PPE when handling lime, and that good maintenance policies are in place to prevent lime dust from accumulating on the shop floor. However, good housekeeping and training are only part of the solution. Process changes, such as implementing lime injection technologies, can also significantly reduce dust and improve safety on the shop floor.

• Closed Loop Environment: Due to its high reactivity, quicklime should be protected from exposure to atmospheric conditions during handling and storage. Lime injection technology establishes a closed-loop environment, minimizing these risks and increasing lime utilization by getting more material into solution.
• Dust Suppression: Lime injection systems are designed to minimize dust emissions during handling and delivery to the furnace by injecting lime through the sidewall of the furnace and directly into the bath using injectors. This reduces lime dust accumulation around work areas and minimizes airborne particles, resulting in a cleaner and safer working environment.
• Reducing Exposure: By preventing the release of fine particles into the environment, lime injection enhances worker safety by reducing the risks of dust inhalation, eye exposure, and skin irritation. Less quicklime dust around the shop also reduces the risk of slips/falls.

By injecting lime directly into the molten steel bath through the sidewall of the furnace, you can avoid many of the hazards of lime dust. For a quick reference for safe practices when handling lime, check out our guide.