OSHA requires controls, such as substitution, isolation, and ventilation, as the primary means of preventing or minimizing exposures to airborne contaminants during activities such as abrasive blasting in 29 CFR 1910.134(a).

Aluminum Oxide is among the hardest blast abrasives available. It is also a top choice for applications that must avoid contamination or corrosion. Aluminum oxide can be used to blast many different substrates including metal, glass, and wood, and is mainly used for etching and finishing.

So while Abrasive Blasting is the correct term – Sandblasting is often used mistakenly. Both Sandblasting and Abrasive Blasting are used in today's industrial vernacular. The terms mean generally the same thing: the removal of the top layer of a substrate, coating, contaminant, or corrosion through airborne abrasives.

Abrasive blasting is a loose abrasive machining process. The abrasives stream (also called media) is propelled with compressed air or the centrifugal force (induced by a spinning wheel) against the workpiece surface at high speed. Sandblasting and shotblasting are two common variants of abrasive blasting.