Dust Monitoring to Minimise Workplace Exposure & Ensure COSHH Compliance

Respirable and inhalable workplace dust monitoring helps ensure that dust exposure is below the legal limits and that your control measures are adequate to keep employees safe and your business compliant. We specialise in helping companies monitor dust and provide a dust monitoring report in an industry-beating 15 working days.

Contact us now, or read on for advice and guidelines.

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Types of Dust Exposure

Occupational hygienists class dusts as inhalable, thoracic, and respirable dust.

Inhalable dust consists of larger particles. These enter the upper parts of the lungs but do not penetrate deeply into the lungs. In contrast, respirable dust consists of smaller particles and enters the deepest parts of the lungs – the gas exchange area. Thoracic dust makes up the remainder of the dust. These particles enter the middle part of the lungs.

EH40/2005 – Workplace Exposure Limits only gives limits for the inhalable and respirable fractions so the thoracic fraction is not usually measured. It is important to ensure that dust levels are acceptable by undertaking workplace dust monitoring to measure employee dust exposure and where necessary, establish controls. Understanding what to look for and the regulations around COSHH is an important part of your dust risk assessment, Synergy helps provide expertise in dust monitoring to take care of the intricacies of maintaining compliance.

Dust Risk Assessment Information

EH40 Exposure Limits

Workplace Dust Exposure Limits

General dust, sometimes called nuisance dust, is included under COSHH and is classed as a substance hazardous to health once airborne, hence there are workplace dust exposure limits within EH40. This applies whenever concentrations of inhalable dust are above 10 mg.m^-3 and respirable dust is at a concentration above 4 mg.m^-3.

Monitoring Dust

Monitoring Occupational Dust Exposure

The method of monitoring occupational dust exposure is provided by HSE document MDHS 14/4 ‘General methods for sampling and gravimetric analysis of respirable, thoracic and inhalable aerosols’.

Synergy uses two methods for dust monitoring. Firstly, we use a cyclone head to collect the respirable fraction only. For the second method, the occupational hygiene consultant uses an IOM head. This is equipped with a foam insert to separate the different size fractions.

The IOM sampling head is a wearable device. A pump is provided for the operative to wear, usually on a belt or in a pocket. The sampling head, which contains a pre-weighed filter, is fitted in the breathing zone of the worker (within 300mm of the mouth and nose). The laboratory analyses the filter following MDHS 14/4 and provides dust monitoring results.

While the IOM head method simultaneously measures respirable and inhalable fractions of dust, this method of workplace air monitoring suffers from a higher limit of detection so longer sampling times are necessary.

Health Effects of Dust

General effects such as coughing and sneezing, as well as throat, eye, and lung irritation are health effects of dust and are likely to occur when significant dust concentrations are present in the air. Additionally, prolonged and repeated inhalation of significant concentrations of respirable dust can cause this dust to settle within the lungs and reduce lung function. Other health effects from dust are related to the constituents of dust, such as silica, wood or metals. These can have serious consequences for employee health with high or unchecked exposure levels. For these reasons, regular dust monitoring is recommended.

For organisations concerned about employee dust exposure, Synergy also provides a Spirometry Occupational Health Service to test lung function.

Controlling Dust

Synergy Specialises in All Aspects of COSHH

Workplace air monitoring is a fundamental aspect of worker safety and COSHH compliance in most industries. From inert compounds to hazardous substances, Synergy’s team of Occupational Hygiene Consultants can work with you to get you a report in 15 working days. We specialise in all these workplace hazards.