Pinning down mystery dusts?
Dust is an emotive issue. Deposits of unidentified dust of unknown source in the workplace raise concerns about uncontrolled exposures to hazardous substances. Dust may contaminate products rendering them unusable. It fouls up equipment and creates a need for constant cleaning. Dust in the wider environment may also give rise to concern about potential exposure to hazardous substances as well as causing nuisance through spoiling of paintwork and soiling of other surfaces. Dust may be a particular nuisance during dry summer weather when windows and doors are open allowing dust from external sources to penetrate indoors.
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is a powerful tool in the identification of sources of nuisance dust that may help you to solve a persistent workplace or neighbourhood issue. Dust in wipe samples can be examined to determine particle size, shape and composition. The detection of distinctive elements in workplace dust can pinpoint its source allowing the identification of malfunctioning equipment or sources of dust contamination arising from neighbouring processes (such as industrial activity on adjacent sites).
SEM can be used to answer questions such as whether the dust deposited on exterior paintwork originates from the local cement works or is simply soil dust? Are the salt deposits on corroded pipes related to the materials being handled at the industrial plant next door? When the Grangemouth refinery was closed by strike action in 2008, we were able to demonstrate that the red dust reported to cover cars in the local area shortly after process start up was unrelated to the refinery’s activities and the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency were able to use the information that we provided together with weather information to conclude that the red dust originated from soils in southern Europe.