Fall-out dust monitoring is a legal requirement under
the pollutions act of 1975. The act states that "......", and
this means that all manufacturing concerns are responsible for the dust at the
perimeter of the area.
If the dust levels measured are above the specified
limits then engineering solutions need to be implemented to decrease the
fall-out dust levels.
There are many factors that effect fall-out dust namely:
-
Rainfall, because dust is attracted to the water
vapour in the atmosphere and it then precipitates along with the rain
-
Wind, because dust is carried by the wind and will
only fall-out when there is absolutely no wind.
-
Geographical features, or any other factor that could
influence the rainfall or the wind, for reasons mentioned above.
-
Pollens and small insects because these add to the
dust levels and precipitate out in the same way.
-
The most influential factors are "dusty
activities" such as dropping material from a conveyor onto a pile
without considering the fall height. This and countless other
activities are necessary in the mining and other industries and the
challenge once dust problems are detected is to engineer them away.
Generally
finer suspended dust (2.5µm > 10µm) will remain airborne almost
indefinitely due to the dynamic nature of the air currents and thermal
activities on any given day, even if there is no wind at all. Particulate
larger than this range will settle on a very still day and this material can be
collected.
The
unit that we use to capture this dust is the DustWatch,
designed and patented in South Africa by Gerry Kuhn Environmental and Hygiene
Engineering.
We
offer the full service package or parts of the package as the client requires.
We will also assist in getting existing fall-out monitoring systems up and
running again. Obviously the full package allows the client to sit back
and receive a report every month regarding their fall-out dust.
