Measuring respirable silica dust in real-time with TSI DustTrak Aerosol Monitor

The construction industry has the largest number of workers that are potentially exposed to high levels of crystalline silica. Respirable silica dust is considered a carcinogen by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Because of the small size of respirable particles, once silica gets into the deep part of the lungs, it cannot be removed or expelled.

Silica is found in both natural and man-made substances. It is created by any high-energy operation such as cutting, sanding, sawing, grinding, polishing, drilling and crushing stone, rock, concrete, brick, block and mortar. Other activities such as sand blasting, sweeping dirty areas, using compressed air to clean, driving or operating heavy equipment on dirt roads, the demolition of structures or transferring dry materials containing silica also create respirable silica.

Real-time direct reading instruments like TSI’s DustTrak Aerosol Monitors make it simple to quickly and cost effectively measure real-time silica exposure levels to capture the critical data needed to drive corrective action. The instruments are perfect for long-term unattended work area monitoring and walk-through facility surveys.

With real-time monitoring, there is no more waiting for traditional gravimetric lab results of repetitive sampling during the process of making corrective actions and validations. You can do in hours what normally takes weeks.

The advantages of the DustTrak Aerosol Monitor:

• Reduced Set-up and Sample Collection Times

    Real-time dust measurements can collect ‘representative’ samples in far less time than traditional gravimetric sampling.

• Fast Corrective Action 

    Achieve in Hours or Days what typically takes weeks or even months to complete using only gravimetric sampling. Real-time monitoring provides instant and actionable exposure data.

• Real-Time Data-logging

    Provides employers with an exposure ‘data trail’ of employee exposure levels including alarm conditions for post-test review and pinpoint analysis of exposure during an entire work shift.

• Instant Alerts and Exposure Data

    Real-Time monitoring provides immediate results to make decisions, take corrective actions and validate those actions so further adjustments can be made.

• Reduced Worker Exposures

    Keeps workers safe through accurate, immediate feedback of workplace conditions while saving your company money.