Dust Protection Devices

Dust can be a cause of complaint for the community and poses environmental and occupational health hazards for the workforce.

When installing monitoring points on site, fixings had to be drilled into concrete, stone, masonry or similar substrates, which caused large amounts of dust.

Some of this dust would be Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS) which can damage the gas exchange part of the lungs and exposure to RCS can lead to Silicosis, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and lung cancer.

This site dealt with this issue by introducing the following measures:

• A lightweight and portable dust collector was attached to the drill;
• This collector was easy to fit and remove from the drill and incorporated a dust filter which could be removed and cleaned when required;
• Operatives were also instructed to wear a face fit dust mask and a dust air pump;
• The site also introduced personal dust monitoring devices for operatives working below ground;
• Personal sampling pumps were clipped to operatives’ belts with the sampling heads fixed to the collar of their work shirts. The sampling heads were then collected at the end of the day and sent to a laboratory for analysis, to check the operative’s exposure levels.