Validation of a Novel Dust Generator using Respirable Crystalline Silica

Abstract

The inability to measure occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) in real-time is a concern for occupational hygienists and other allied professionals. Workplace exposure samples are usually collected and transported from the work environment to an accredited laboratory for analysis which can take many weeks. Overcoming such difficulty will save analyses time and enable occupational hygienists and organizations to make timely interventions in work areas where there is exposure to high levels of RCS. A portable dust generator has been developed for in-field use to enable the quantification of RCS in various dust clouds. The Rota-Dust dust generator has been successfully developed and validated to produce dust clouds for up to two hours and subsequently prepare calibration curves using a quartz reference standard for FTIR. The portable dust generator can generate dust clouds of host materials in varying to determine when control strategies are required to be employed. It also provides a means to generate samples of host material for identification of analytical interferences of portable instruments.