7
Active Contracts
Development of a Silica Dust Direct Reading Sampler with
Selectivity for Dust Components and Size—Colorado State
University
A 25-mm personal sampler containing a capacitive sen-
sor, which collects/measures respirable particles, has been
designed and used during drilling activities to collect
numerous nano- to micrometer-sized particles. It is cur-
rently being modified to accommodate the 37 mm filter
commonly used in the mining industry for respirable silica
dust sampling. This device (Figure 1) uses capacitive sensors
to monitor the volume of deposited particles and convert
the detection results to a real-time exposure level and then
use coordinated optical and capacitive sensor responses to
determine the total quantity of silica.
Development of Non-regulatory Runtime Respirable Coal and
Silica Dust Monitor Using Quantum Cascade Laser-based
Cavity Ringdown Spectroscopy—RingIR, Inc.
RingIR is developing a simple, miniaturized, low-weight,
personal dust monitor for non-regulatory respirable coal
and silica dust measurement using QCL-based cavity ring-
down spectroscopy. RingIR plans to use their Agnoscis
AG-4000 spectrometer in conjunction with the QCL-
based direct spectroscopy as the basis for their instrument.
Using a laser and photo-detector, the AG-4000 measures IR
absorption of molecules in the 7–11 µm mid-IR range and
will be used to measure the unique IR absorption profiles
of coal and silica dust to determine the appropriate discrete
wavelengths to utilize in the development of a miniaturized
personal dust monitor. The prototype device (Figure 2) has
been constructed and additional testing is required for vali-
dation to compare its resulting concentrations of RCMD
and RCS dust with the NIOSH FAST, NIOSH 7500, and
NIOSH 7603 methods for crystalline silica quantification.
Novel Application of Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy
and Optical Particle Counting for the Real-Time
Quantification of Respirable Crystalline Silica and Dust in
the Mining Environment—Microaeth Corporation
Integration of a FTIR spectrometer and suitable light source
with the hardware of an AethLabs MA200 UV-IR black
carbon monitor, a palm-sized, battery-powered, wearable,
multi-wavelength unit (Figure 3) with a mechanized filter
tape advance mechanism, is being performed in order to
develop a wearable RCS monitor. Candidate FTIR inter-
ferometers, detectors and light sources have been evaluated
and a FTIR has been selected to incorporate into the design
to finalize the development of the integrated analyzer. A
performance comparison of this unit to a laboratory-grade
Figure 1. The Tsai diffusion sampler components (left) and the experimental test setup used to test the
Tsai diffusion sampler (right)
Figure 2. The RingIR dust monitor prototype
Active Contracts
Development of a Silica Dust Direct Reading Sampler with
Selectivity for Dust Components and Size—Colorado State
University
A 25-mm personal sampler containing a capacitive sen-
sor, which collects/measures respirable particles, has been
designed and used during drilling activities to collect
numerous nano- to micrometer-sized particles. It is cur-
rently being modified to accommodate the 37 mm filter
commonly used in the mining industry for respirable silica
dust sampling. This device (Figure 1) uses capacitive sensors
to monitor the volume of deposited particles and convert
the detection results to a real-time exposure level and then
use coordinated optical and capacitive sensor responses to
determine the total quantity of silica.
Development of Non-regulatory Runtime Respirable Coal and
Silica Dust Monitor Using Quantum Cascade Laser-based
Cavity Ringdown Spectroscopy—RingIR, Inc.
RingIR is developing a simple, miniaturized, low-weight,
personal dust monitor for non-regulatory respirable coal
and silica dust measurement using QCL-based cavity ring-
down spectroscopy. RingIR plans to use their Agnoscis
AG-4000 spectrometer in conjunction with the QCL-
based direct spectroscopy as the basis for their instrument.
Using a laser and photo-detector, the AG-4000 measures IR
absorption of molecules in the 7–11 µm mid-IR range and
will be used to measure the unique IR absorption profiles
of coal and silica dust to determine the appropriate discrete
wavelengths to utilize in the development of a miniaturized
personal dust monitor. The prototype device (Figure 2) has
been constructed and additional testing is required for vali-
dation to compare its resulting concentrations of RCMD
and RCS dust with the NIOSH FAST, NIOSH 7500, and
NIOSH 7603 methods for crystalline silica quantification.
Novel Application of Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy
and Optical Particle Counting for the Real-Time
Quantification of Respirable Crystalline Silica and Dust in
the Mining Environment—Microaeth Corporation
Integration of a FTIR spectrometer and suitable light source
with the hardware of an AethLabs MA200 UV-IR black
carbon monitor, a palm-sized, battery-powered, wearable,
multi-wavelength unit (Figure 3) with a mechanized filter
tape advance mechanism, is being performed in order to
develop a wearable RCS monitor. Candidate FTIR inter-
ferometers, detectors and light sources have been evaluated
and a FTIR has been selected to incorporate into the design
to finalize the development of the integrated analyzer. A
performance comparison of this unit to a laboratory-grade
Figure 1. The Tsai diffusion sampler components (left) and the experimental test setup used to test the
Tsai diffusion sampler (right)
Figure 2. The RingIR dust monitor prototype