Occupational Dust Measurement:
Calibrated measurement of explosive and otherwise hazardous Workplace Dusts. Note: All testing and monitoring complies with the Chemical Agents Regulations, 2001, the Explosive Atmospheres Regulations, 2003, and with current HSA Codes of Practice and Guidelines.
Do you have a Dust problem at work? This will depend on whether your employees regularly and frequently work in dusty atmospheres . It will also depend on the nature of the dust, how long your employees are exposed to these dusts and at what level. As a simple guide you will probably need to do something about workplace dust if you work in an industry with exposure to... Concrete dust – cutting Cotton dust Explosible dusts such as: flour, custard powder, instant coffee, sugar, dried milk, potato powder and soup powder. Ferrous foundry particulate Grain dust Halogeno-platinum compounds Machine-made mineral fibres [MMMF] Pulverised fuel ash Refractory ceramic fibre [RCF] Rubber fume or rubber process dust Silica dust – pottery Stone dust - Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS) Subtilisins (bio-wash enzymes) Talc Wood dust Wool process dust
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WHAT THE LAW REQUIRES Regulation 6(1)(c) of the Chemical Agents Regulations, 2001, requires employers: “…………….. to carry out on a regular basis, and when any change occurs in the conditions which may affect employees’ exposure to hazardous chemical agents, measurements of hazardous chemical agents in accordance with an internationally validated procedure and in particular in relation to any occupational exposure limit values listed in an approved Code of Practice, unless it can be demonstrated that, … adequate prevention and protection measures have been taken to prevent risk.” Those measurements, of dusts as well as volatile organic compounds, could include personal monitoring, air monitoring, information about the date and location of monitoring, etc. and any other relevant measurements deemed necessary based on the risk assessment. The results of these monitoring regimes constitute a record of exposure. This exposure record should be maintained by the employer and a copy forwarded to the occupational healthcare professional for retention and inclusion in the confidential medical record. The collective results (without being able to identify the specific results of individual workers) of this exposure record should be made available to workers or their representatives or both. Each individual worker may have access to his or her own record. The exposure record must also be made available to the Health and Safety Authority, if requested. The Explosive Atmospheres Regulations, 2003, implement a European Directive called, the ATEX Directive No.1992/92 and are concerned with the risks from fire and explosion arising from flammable substances stored or used in the workplace. Flammable substance includes any substance or preparation, which because of its properties or the way it is used can cause harm to people from fires and explosions. Examples of flammable substance include dusts which when mixed with air could cause an explosive atmosphere, for example, dust from milling and sanding operations. 
EXPOSURE LIMITS - Control for exposure by inhalation - Certain dusts Occupational Exposure Limit Value (OELV) An OELV is the maximum concentration of an airborne substance averaged over a reference period, to which employees may be exposed under any circumstances. OELVs must not be exceeded and for substances that have been assigned an OELV, employers must reduce exposure so far as is reasonably practicable below the OELV. OELVs apply only to people at work and to conditions where the atmospheric pressure is normal, i.e. between 900 and 1100 millibars (90-110 Kpa). OELVs are approved by the National Authority for Occupational Safety and Health and refer to concentrations of chemical agent(s) in the air that people breathe, averaged over a specified period of time, referred to as time weighted average (TWA). Two time periods are used: long-term (eight hours); and short- term (15 minutes). The Authority revises and publishes a list of OELVs every two years titled, Code of Practice for the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Chemical Agents) Regulations. Download a copy of the current Code of practice, free, from www.hsa.ie. Copies of both regulations can also be downloaded from the HSA website. Substances assigned an Occupational Exposure Limit Value (OELV) The employer should ensure that exposure to hazardous dusts is reduced to as low a level as is reasonably practicable below the OELV. For dusts with an eight hour long-term reference period, employers will normally have to carry out a programme of air monitoring in accordance with Regulation 6(1)(c), unless the risk assessment made under Regulation 4 shows that the level of exposure is unlikely ever to exceed the OELV. The extent to which employers can reduce exposure below the OELV will depend on the type of risk presented by the substance, weighed against the cost and the effort involved in taking measures to reduce the risk. Short-term exposure limits (STELs) Some dusts also have been assigned short-term exposure limits (STELs) (15-minute reference period). These substances can cause acute health effects and the purpose of the short-term limit is to prevent adverse health effects occurring from brief exposures to the substance. For this reason, and in keeping with the principles of adequate control as they apply to OELVs, short-term OELVs should never be exceeded. Dust Types Most industrial dusts contain particles of a wide range of sizes. The behaviour, deposition and fate of any particle after entry into the human respiratory system, and the response that it elicits, depends on the nature and size of the particle. For the purposes of occupational hygiene, it is important to consider the concentrations of dust present in different size fractions. Inhalable dust Inhalable dust approximates to the fraction of airborne material that enters the nose and mouth during breathing, and is therefore available for deposition in the respiratory tract. The inhalable fraction depends on the prevailing air movement around the exposed person (wind speed and direction), and on whether breathing is by nose or mouth. It is, however, possible to define a target specification for sampling instruments that approximates to the inhalable fraction, for representative values of breathing rate, and for a person exposed equally to all wind directions. The target specification given by the European Standards EN 481:1993. Respirable dust Respirable dust approximates to the fraction of airborne material that penetrates to the gas exchange region of the lung. The respirable fraction varies for different individuals; however, it is possible to define a target specification for sampling instruments that approximates to the respirable fraction for the average person. The target specification given by EN 481:1993 applies. |
RISK ASSESSMENTS Where the chemical substances (including dusts) present a significant risk to safety and health, the corresponding Risk Assessment should comprise a comprehensive record. This should include, at least, the appropriate items from the following non-exhaustive list... the substances to which the employees are liable to be exposed and the form in which they occur, e.g. dust, fume; the processes or activities in which the substances are used or produced and how employees may be exposed to them, including the quantities stored and used in the workplace; the hazards and risks the substances present under normal conditions of use, and in circumstances of an unforeseen incident, accident or emergency which could result in an uncontrolled release of the substance concerned into the workplace; the extent to which prevention and substitution of a substance or process was considered; identification of the employees or groups of employees liable to be exposed; the preventive measures already in place to achieve adequate control of exposure, including the use of any personal and respiratory protective equipment (RPE). (These need not duplicate details of measures more fully described in other documents such as standard operating procedures but could refer to them); the commissioning, monitoring and testing required as part of the process of validating the effectiveness of, and refining of, control measures; whether it is necessary to carry out exposure monitoring and measurement and the frequency with which any further air monitoring will be carried out; where appropriate, the reasons for selecting particular types of personal protective equipment including respiratory protective equipment to secure adequate control; the conclusions reached on the risks to the health and safety of employees and to any other people who may be affected by the work concerned, taking account of preventive measures already being used; whether it is appropriate to place any identified groups of employees under health surveillance and, where available, the results of health surveillance already undertaken; and when the risk assessment will be reviewed or the period between successive reviews.
This record of the significant findings will also form the basis for a revision of the Risk Assessment. The Risk Assessment must also clearly identify the measures that have been taken or that must be put in place in relation to the requirements of the Regulations, including the dates for such actions or measures to be put in place and made operational. TESTING & ONGOING MONITORING We undertake exposure monitoring both for areas of a facility or for individuals or groups of individual. In all cases we follow best international practice. Those measurements could include personal monitoring, air monitoring, information about the date and location of monitoring etc. and any other relevant measurements deemed necessary based on the risk assessment. COMPREHENSIVE WRITTEN REPORT We provide a written Report in all instances which will detail... The results of these monitoring regimes constitute a record of exposure. This exposure record should be maintained by the employer and a copy forwarded to the occupational healthcare professional for retention and inclusion in the confidential medical record. The collective results (without being able to identify the specific results of individual workers) of this exposure record should be made available to workers or their representatives or both. Each individual worker may have access to his or her own record. The exposure record must also be made available to the Health and Safety Authority, if requested. The Report will aid in demonstrating that you, as an employer, have fulfilled your obligation under health & safety Law to do 'all that is reasonably practicable' to create and maintain a safe workplace.
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