Dust Samplers

Industrial sites can be a major source of dust and particlates and while it is extremely critical to protect workers health, due dilligence also needs to be paid to dust transported off the site by the wind which may create concern for any local community. 

Sources of airborne dust in the mining industry include:

Dust monitoring programs should ensure a reasonable representation of the dust exposure for given activities and the work site.

One of the challenges especially in industrial estates is to determine the origin of the dust. Establishing a high volume air sampler in an industrial estate will provide information on the concentration at that particular location, however it won't provide information on the origin of the dust or from which site it was produced.

It is for this reason that Ecotech's HiVol 3000 High Volume Air Samplers and MicroVol 1100 low volume air samplers incorporate the option to connect a wind speed and direction sensor enabling meteorological conditions to be monitored during the operation of the sampler.

These sensors can also be used to trigger the sampler to start and stop sampling. For instance the sampler can be programmed so that when wind speed is greater than 5 km/hr and is blowing from a NE to NW direction, then sampling will occur. Once the wind direction changes outside of this vector, sampling stops.

These systems can also incorporate real time particulate monitors that measure particulates in real time, but also collect a small sample of those particulates from within the specific hour that was monitored. 

Later analysis of when sampling occured and what was sampled provides important information enabling the community or government agency to determine what is being generated by which industry. Control measures can then be put in place to minimise fugitive emissions.