LAUSR

Handling of hazardous materials in occupational settings can lead to worker exposure by inhalation. Dustiness testing, such as the EN 15051-2 rotating drum tester, provides suppliers and users of bulk materials with information on the potential for dust emission from hazardous substances when handled or processed in the workplace. This tester agitates powder samples in a rotating drum and the resulting dust is collected and sized by drawing it through two reticulated metal foams. Two approaches were used to evaluate the performance of the metal foams. Firstly, the performance of the metal foams was measured in a calm air chamber using a polydisperse aerosol of glass particles and assessed against the EN 481 respirable convention. Secondly, the performance of the metal foam for the respirable fraction was compared using the rotating drum dustiness test, with that of a cyclone set-up, using four polydisperse glass powders of different size distribution and dustiness potential. In general, for the respirable fraction, the tests demonstrated a conservative oversampling by the current EN 15051-2 metal foam set-up in comparison with the EN 481 convention. This study also showed the importance of sealing the circumference of the metal foams when testing highly dusty powders. A direct comparison of the respirable dustiness fraction measured by the current EN 15051-2 metal foams set-up and by a cyclone set-up, showed broad agreement. However, the cyclone gave lower values except where foam clogging occurred. The research also highlighted suggested improvements to the EN 15051-2 standard. © Crown Copyright (2022)