Development of a Real-Time Respirable Coal Dust and Silica Dust Monitoring Instrument Based on Photoacoustic Spectroscopy

Details

• Personal Author:
  Arnott WP ; Firouzkouhi H ; Kocsis KC ; Nascimento P ; Taylor SJ ; Wang XL
• Description:
  We report the first spectral photoacoustic measurements of silica, coal, and kaolinite dust absorption coefficients from 11 to 13 µm at 5 nm resolution made with a tunable quantum cascade laser. This is important because airborne silica dust and coal dust within mining environments continue to be a problem for mine workers and staff due to their severe health effects on the respiratory system, while other dust types are potentially interferents to their detection. Our real-time spectra compare favorably with the non-real-time filter-based Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) spectra obtained using the sampling system developed by NIOSH for their end-of-shift method to determine silica dust concentrations using a portable FTIR. We discuss our new dust generation system and instrument testing chamber. We also show that our PM4 silica mass concentration measurements by a low-cost air quality sensor (SPS30) are in good agreement with the TSI Aerosol Particle Sizer instrument, the NIOSH end of shift method, gravimetric mass, and correlate well with photoacoustic light absorption measurements at a wavelength where silica absorbs strongly. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aerosols Air Pollution Dust Mining Occupational Health Safety Silicon Dioxide
• Keywords:
  Acoustic Measurement Aerosol Particles Air Quality Monitoring Coal Dust Crystalline Silica Dust Analysis Lasers Light Absorption Respirable Dust Sensors Silica Dusts

  More +
• ISSN:
  2524-3462
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Contract
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Nevada ; OSHA Region 8 ; OSHA Region 9 ; Utah
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  39
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20066146
• Citation:
  Min Metall Explor 2022 Oct; 39(5):2237-2245
• Contact Point Address:
  K. C. Kocsis, Department of Mining Engineering, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
• Email:
  charles.kocsis@utah.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2023
• Performing Organization:
  University of Nevada, Reno
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20190901
• Source Full Name:
  Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3600aa66a09c8c173dc45c652cbc9728adcd7e2cacbce3b6d936846f45704dcfd06e642822ab217b8e76d1f099d436c8e9de1563acb67d048c8890c468c81e5e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/212654/cdc_212654_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.57 MB ]