Dust in Workplace Atmospheres
Nuisance or something more?
Some dusts are fairly innocuous and have a relatively high TWA 8 hour exposure limit of 10 mg/m3. However, if your dust contains Silica (think SAND!) then the limit drops to 0.1 mg/m3 – 100 times less. If the dust is a specific chemical then it may be even less.
If you have an issue with dust on your work site we can sample according to either of the two Australian Standards to get an idea of longer term exposure:
- AS 2985—2009 Workplace atmospheres—Method for sampling and gravimetric determination of respirable dust
- AS 3640—2009 Workplace atmospheres—Method for sampling and gravimetric determination of inhalable dust
The method used will depend on the type of dust that is your problem. Keep your people safe & avoid costly prosecution.
Call us now to discuss.
Dust – Environmental
Dust outside on your work site can be a problem for you but may be an even bigger problem for your neighbours. We can perform real time monitoring to find if there are areas or peak times where dust is a problem. This allows you to combat dust just in these primary areas & save money. We will measure PMx for this type of work in line with EPA suggestions.
Call us now to discuss.
Diesel Particulate Matter (DPM)
Back in June 2012 after a week-long meeting of international experts, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which is part of the World Health Organization (WHO), classified diesel engine exhaust as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1), based on sufficient evidence that exposure is associated with an increased risk for lung cancer.
The study was based on underground coal mining so they were looking at reasonably high levels and not what we are exposed to every day in the street. However if you are using diesel engines in a relatively confined area, you should consider taking precautions.
What is the first step? Measuring the amount of DPM that is in your environment.
With connections back to the early days of DPM monitoring in Australia with our local world leader together with SKC & NIOSH; we are ideally suited to discussing this problem with you.
Call us now to discuss.