Dust Monitoring

What is Dust

Dust poses a risk in nearly every industry. While the dangers of certain dusts like silica, flour and wood are well known and addressed in specific Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance, many other substances also produce hazardous dusts. It’s essential to control exposure to all types of dusts.

Dust that enters the nose and mouth during breathing is known as inhalable dust. Some of these particles are larger or heavier and tend to get trapped in the nose, throat, or upper respiratory tract, where they can cause harm. Finer particles, called respirable dusts, are small enough to reach deep into the lungs, where they can accumulate and potentially lead to serious lung damage. (Source: HSE: Dust in the workplace)

What to expect

Our Air Monitoring services will be undertaken by a highly trained and experienced Occupational Hygiene Consultant who will come to your site. Before the assessment, we will agree a scope of works extensively, decide on the number of samples necessary and the distribution between personal and static samples.

We will conduct an assessment for the scope of work and provide a Risk Assessment and Method Statement for the monitoring taking place. When the consultant comes to site, they will make observations and understand the sources of exposure and the control measures currently used. They will then assess their effectiveness using the measurement data gathered.

They will take personal exposure samples as per Methods for the Determination of Hazardous Substances (MDHS) 14/4. Samples will subsequently be sent to the lab for analysis. Once we have the results your consultant will create a comprehensive technical report.

What do our reports cover

We will provide:

• A detailed executive summary of the work caried out.
• An explanation of the legal requirements and workplace exposure limits (WELs).
• Clear and comprehensive recordings of the assessment’s results including where and when they were taken.
• A conclusion with specific recommendations separated out for each area of the site so it is clear what action should be taken and relevant photos to highlight targeted improvements.