Survey of airborne particulate matter concentration at a marble processing facility - workers’ exposure assessment

Abstract

The scope of the present work was to examine exposure to airborne particulate matter (PM) at a marble cutting and treatment facility. Measurements were conducted inside all sections of the facility, as well as at selected outdoor locations. PM 10 concentrations were monitored continuously, with a 1-min time resolution, by the use of DustTrak (Model 8520, TSI, Inc.). Mean PM 10 concentration levels during cutting operations were measured equal to 997 μg m , when only half of the machines were functioning. Higher levels were measured at the artistic department, where marble is cut and processed manually (mean PM 10 concentration equal to 3,860 during a heavy cutting procedure and 1,000 μg m -3 during a light duty period). When sampling was conducted next to the workers during the cutting process, mean personal exposure reached up to 63,000 μg m -3. The use of water during cutting operation was found to effectively decrease PM emissions. Significant concentrations were also measured at the different administrative offices. The highest levels (mean concentration equal to 220 μg m -3 ) were measured at the accounting office which is located at ground level, in close vicinity to the cutting section.

Quantifying Emissions of PM10 Generated by the Implosion of Concrete Grain Silos

“…Although there is a wealth of studies that have tackled air pollution from diverse sources such as road vehicles Goel and Kumar, 2015), road works (Fuller and Green, 2004;Tian et al, 2007), non-vehicular activities (Saliba et al, 2010;, and industrial works (Rodríguez et al, 2004;Toledo et al, 2008;Diapouli et al, 2013;, there is a lack of studies that address PM emanating from demolition sites. Consequently, the focus of this paper is related to (1) quantifying particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 10 µm (PM 10 ) emissions during the implosion of concrete grain silos located at the old seaport in Aqaba off the Gulf of Aqaba that took place on 13 January 2019 and (2) estimating particle mass emission rate of PM 10 produced by the collapse of imploded silos.…”