Protecting the health of construction workers with real-time dust monitoring 

During October, the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has been carrying out its annual month long campaign of inspecting construction sites across the country. The dangers of long-term exposure to dust are well known and regulations for protecting occupational health have been in place for many years. Primarily, dust falls into two size categories: inhalable and respirable with the latter posing the greater health risk. Respirable dust can penetrate much further down into the lungs with the potential to cause a range of respiratory conditions and diseases. Understanding exposure to dangerous elements in work environments requires data. TSI’s aerosol and dust exposure monitoring solutions allow health and safety professionals to capture critical exposure information needed to ensure worker safety. TSI’s real-time direct reading instruments collect exposure data in the moment as opposed to days, weeks, or even months later. 

TSI’s range of DustTrak^TM products come in four different configurations to suit a variety of monitoring applications. The lightweight handheld monitor is perfect for walkthrough surveys, spot checks and validating the effectiveness of dust controls. For personal dust exposure monitoring the SidePak AM520 would be the instrument of choice, designed to measure the exposure within the breathing zone of a worker. For long-term surveys, the desktop version is ideal whilst continuous unattended monitoring is the job of TSI’s robust DustTrak^TM outdoor environmental monitor.