Construction Site Monitoring

Construction projects tend to create large amounts of dust and other fugitive emissions that can be harmful to human health and the environment, depending upon the type of work that is being conducted and the materials that are present. As we become more cognizant of the impact fugitive dust has on outdoor air quality, protection agencies have passed regulations in order to decrease the impact construction projects may have on the human health and the surrounding communities.

Worker safety has long been a concern as well, and modern practices have significantly improved the safety at construction sites. One example of these regulations includes OSHA’s new Respirable Crystalline Silica Construction Standard, which details the allowable exposure to Crystalline Silica for a given time period. In addition to personal exposure limits, the Clean Air Act, established by the EPA, regulates emissions of hazardous air pollutants to protect public health and welfare.

Construction Applications

Construction applications can come in many different shapes and sizes, from the demolition of condemned buildings, to the remediation of Superfund and Brownfield sites. These examples may create the need for an instrument that can monitor the aerosols produced by the site and/or process, in order to comply with the regulations and standards administered by the local (state) and federal agencies.

PM10 Monitoring

Dust from various construction processes contain a wide range of particle sizes and material types. The larger particles, usually termed ‘dust’, tend to settle out of the air quickly and are mostly a health hazard to the operators in the immediate area. The smaller particles, known as PM10, are usually invisible and may not seem to be an obvious hazard. However, they can be carried much further in the air potentially causing health hazards both to workers on the site and to people living and working outside the site boundary in the local neighborhood.

Implementing the proper air quality monitoring instruments can confirm that dust suppression controls are working properly—and more importantly—provide the needed data enabling you to protect your employee and the surrounding communities.