Vapour / Wet-Media Cabinet Blasting SWMS
Vapour and wet-media cabinet blasting SWMS for NSW. Enclosed-cabinet silica control, glove integrity, slurry and wastewater, media additives, noise and plant. Editable DOCX, instant download.
SWMS variants reference your state’s WHS legislation. Instant download after payment.
Vapour and wet-media cabinet blasting is enclosed abrasive blasting carried out inside a sealed cabinet, where the operator works from outside through gloved ports and the abrasive is delivered in a water slurry that suppresses dust. It is not ordinarily high risk construction work — the operator is outside an enclosed unit and the dust is contained within it — so a SWMS is prepared to manage the substance and plant hazards under the WHS general duties rather than as construction HRCW. Where, however, a walk-in blast room is entered, the confined-space provisions and AS 2865 apply and the work becomes confined-space work. The defining hazard is still crystalline silica: blasting parts or castings that contain at least 1% crystalline silica, or using a silica-bearing media, is processing a crystalline silica substance, which is controlled and, where assessed as high risk, requires a silica risk control plan, with exposure managed against the respirable crystalline silica workplace exposure standard of 0.05 mg/m³. The wet method greatly reduces airborne dust, but the controls depend on the cabinet's integrity: a torn glove, a failed seal or an open door during operation breaks containment and exposes the operator. Slurry and wastewater carry the silica and any heavy metals from old coatings and must be managed as controlled waste, while media additives, noise and the moving plant inside the cabinet complete the hazard profile. The SWMS controls cabinet integrity, slurry waste, noise and plant, with SafeWork NSW as the regulator.
Hazards identified
7 hazards covered, sorted by priority.
Silicosis; exceedance of the RCS workplace exposure standard 0.05 mg/m³
Asphyxiation or silica exposure; breach of the confined space duty where AS 2865 applies
Lead and heavy-metal uptake from contaminated slurry and mist
Environmental contamination and breach of trade-waste and environmental duties
Dermatitis and chemical irritation from the slurry
Noise-induced hearing loss above the exposure standard
Hand or arm injury at the gloved ports
Control measures
Hierarchy-of-controls order: elimination → substitution → isolation → engineering → administrative → PPE.
- 1Elimination — Specify silica-free media and components so no crystalline silica is processed in the cabinet
- 2Substitution — Substitute a non-silica abrasive (garnet, glass bead, ceramic) and water-based wet media for silica sand
- 3Engineering — Sealed cabinet with extraction and a viewing window, maintained to keep the operator outside the dust enclosure
- 4Engineering — Slurry capture, settlement and filtration so wastewater is treated and silica/metal solids are collected as controlled waste
- 5Engineering — Interlocks that stop blasting when the door is open or a glove breach is detected
- 6Administrative — Daily integrity check of gloves, seals and the door, and a silica risk control plan where processing is high risk
- 7Administrative — Confined space entry permit and AS 2865 controls whenever a walk-in blast room is entered
- 8Administrative — Health monitoring for silica and, where leaded coatings are blasted, for lead
- 9PPE — P2/P3 respiratory protection at the cabinet, upgraded to air-supplied for any walk-in blast-room entry
- 10PPE — Gloves, eye protection and hearing protection for the operator
Applicable Codes of Practice
Primary code for silica control and abrasive-blasting safety
Duties for silica, lead and media-additive exposure
Entry duties where a walk-in blast room is entered
Duties for noise from blasting plant
Selection and use of respiratory protection at the cabinet
High-Risk Construction Work triggered
Who this is for
- →Cabinet and wet-blast operators in workshops and foundries
- →Surface-preparation technicians
- →Occupational hygienists managing silica exposure
- →Workshop supervisors managing blast-room entry
- →WHS coordinators overseeing trade-waste and slurry disposal
What you receive
- ✓Editable DOCX template — Microsoft Word compatible
- ✓State-specific WHS legislation schedule (NSW/VIC/QLD/SA/WA/TAS/NT/ACT)
- ✓Hazard register with risk ratings + hierarchy-of-control mapping
- ✓Worker sign-on register, pre-start checklist, and incident escalation flow
Worked example
At 8:00 am a workshop operator at Forge Surface Solutions starts a batch of cast-iron parts in a wet-media blast cabinet. Before loading, he runs the daily integrity check the SWMS requires: the gloves are inspected for tears, the door seal and viewing window are sound, and the slurry-capture tank is within level. Because the castings carry an old chromate primer and the media is silica-bearing, the job is treated as processing a crystalline silica substance with a heavy-metal component, so a silica risk control plan applies and he wears a P3 respirator at the cabinet as a backup to containment. He blasts through the gloved ports with the cabinet sealed; when a glove shows a small split mid-batch, the door interlock and his check catch it and he stops and replaces the glove before continuing. The silica- and chromate-laden slurry runs to the settlement and filtration unit, and the collected solids are drummed as controlled waste rather than tipped to the drain. Later a part needs hand-finishing in the walk-in blast room; that entry is done only under a confined-space permit with ventilation and an attendant, to AS 2865.
Related legislation
- WHS Act 2011 (model)
- WHS Regulation 2025
- Abrasive Blasting Code of Practice
- Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice