Dust Exposure Limits

[Safe&Sound]

Hello,

Maths has never been my strongest subject so I hope someone can assist on this;

A client has had a clean air solutions company come in and leave monitoring devices around the production areas for 24 hours to sample the dust quantity in the air. Instead of using the HSE mg/m3 approach they have instead used µg/m3. In their report they have stated;

All particles in the range of 0.1-10.0 micrometer (µm) (1 µm = 1/1000 mm) are airborne particles. The most hazardous and harmful particles are the breathable and respirable particles in the range of 0.1-10.0 µm. Those are measured and the result is shown in µg/m3.

The highest reading over the 24 hours peaked at around 1630 µg/m3 however the average was 61 µg/m3.

If I am not mistaken, they have used microgram readings instead of milligram readings so therefore the average is 0.0061 mg/m3 which is well within the work exposure limits? The company works with card and paper that does generate small amounts of dust however these are all pre-cut and supplied by the supplier. Weekly housekeeping is carried out and daily spot cleans to keep the site clean.

Have I translated the micrograms to milligrams correctly and should further action be taken? According to the report the company that did the testing suggested they had units installed costing £800 p/m to ensure cleaner air.

[bernicarey]

No, you're a decimal point out; 1 microgram (μg) is equal to 1/1000 milligram (mg). So your 61μg is 0.061mg, NOT 0.0061mg.

You can check it with an online calculator easily enough.

Here's one at random: https://www.rapidtables.com/convert/wei ... to-mg.html

[Safe&Sound]

Hi Berni,

Thanks for the correction.

So going by this, the average is 0.061mg/m3 is well below the standard of 4 mg/m3 inhalable dust set by HSE and therefore no further action needs to be taken?

[bernicarey]

Hi Berni,

Thanks for the correction.

So going by this, the average is 0.061mg/m3 is well below the standard of 4 mg/m3 inhalable dust set by HSE and therefore no further action needs to be taken?

That's how I would read it from the figures you've stated. Sounds like the testing company are having a laugh with their desires to sell new equipment.......

[Safe&Sound]

Hi Berni,

Thanks for the correction.

So going by this, the average is 0.061mg/m3 is well below the standard of 4 mg/m3 inhalable dust set by HSE and therefore no further action needs to be taken?

That's how I would read it from the figures you've stated. Sounds like the testing company are having a laugh with their desires to sell new equipment.......

My thoughts exactly

Thanks for the help, really appreciate it.

[Keith1983]

Wherever possible I always try and have any sort of tests done by a company who do not supply any sort of equipment that could address any problems found. This is to make sure that it doesn't skew any test results and potentially end up with spending 1000's on something that isn't required. Or as I have seen before, a company carry out some monitoring and then recommend a piece of equipment or a solution they provide even though it isn't up to the task in hand.