Do I need to be as concerned with a respirator if blasting with Black Beauty instead of Silica sand? I've been trying to find a good respirator lately and have been unable to. The guy at the auto parts store says Black Beauty is safe and he blasts it with only a $1 disposable dust mask.

What's the truth. I don't want to die.


EDIT:
I just saw some additional info on the bag. It says Black Beauty is rated 0 (minimal) for health risk. Is not a carcinogen or cocarcinogen and contains less than 0.01% free silica. It also said it should be treated as a "nuisance dust". So that sounds pretty safe. What do you guys think?

 

At a ship or yard(s) that I know of they use black beauty at everyone is REQUIRED to use a resperator when ever they blast .
The blasting that they do is very intense (it has to be they blast the hull of ships ) but still I would use a resperator
Jon

 

After I posted this I thought about it some more and also decided it's not worth taking a chance for a $40 respirator. In another post, someone located a good one at Sears so I'm going to order it. (I was unable to find one locally). Still it'll be good to know that the Black Beauty is healthier even with the respirator. I won't accidentally suck some in through a leak and hurt myself.

 

Blasting with any type media you should use full protection .
Its the the dust produced from paint,rust, dirt that causes the health problems.not just the media

Rich