Page 46 - OHS, October 2021

IH: INDOOR AIR QUALITY
Arresting Fugitive Dusts
The use of vacuum conveyors to transfer materials between processes improves indoor air quality while increasing efficiency and the bottom line.
BY DOAN PENDLETON
Most often when hearing the term fugitive dust, one thinks of combustible fugitive dust. However, fugitive dust is simply a particulate matter that becomes entrained in ambient air (usually by wind or human
interaction). Respirable dust particles are invisible to the naked eye and universally considered to be 10 microns or less in size. Of all the harmful respirable dusts, silica gets the most attention, perhaps because it is present in so many products and nearly all industries, and it can lead to incurable lung disease and death. Silica is an anti- caking agent in food, pharmaceutical and supplement products in metal powders, paint and coatings formulations and in a host of other materials.
Respirable dust hazards in these industries are not limited to silica exposure. Food flavorings, fine metal powders and active pharmaceutical ingredients contain other substances that are toxic to the human body when inhaled. Even some inert respirable dusts have the ability to cause irritation or sensitivity. Across the
board, regulatory agencies favor closed systems as an engineering control to mitigate respirable dust exposure that occurs during manual dumping or transfer of materials. Vacuum conveying systems contain respirable dust from source to destination in a closed system preventing respirable dusts from escaping into the plant environment in the first place.
Vacuum conveyors are inherently safer and more efficient than manual transfer of materials and some of the most common reasons facilities implement them is to meet increased demand, mitigate ergonomic, fall and fugitive dust hazards, reclamation of expensive materials and improving product quality through precision ingredient delivery.
Whatever the objective, the outcome of implementing vacuum conveyors to transfer powder and bulk solids is increased safety, improved indoor air quality and a better bottom line with proper design.
Although vacuum conveyors are relatively simple systems
42 Occupational Health & Safety | OCTOBER 2021
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