1
24-079
Real-Time Dust Monitoring in Occupational Environments:
A Case Study on Using Low-Cost Dust Monitors for Enhanced
Data Collection and Analysis
Cody Wolfe, Emanuele Cauda, Milan Yekich, and Justin Patts
Health Hazards Prevention Branch
Pittsburgh Mining Research Division
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Pittsburgh, PA
Abstract
A worker’s personal exposure to respirable dust in occu-
pational environments has traditionally been monitored
using established methodologies which entail the collec-
tion of an 8-hour representative sample that is sent away
for laboratory analysis. While these methods are very accu-
rate, they only provide information on the average expo-
sure during a specific time period, generally a worker’s shift.
The availability of relatively inexpensive aerosol sensors can
allow researchers and practitioners to generate real-time
data with unprecedented spatial and temporal granular-
ity. Low-cost dust monitors (LCDM) were developed
and marketed for air pollution monitoring and are mostly
being used to help communities understand their local and
even hyper-local air quality. Most of these integrated sens-
ing packages cost less than $300 per unit, in contrast to
wearable or area dust monitors specifically built for min-
ing applications which have been around for decades but
still average around $5,000 each. At the National Institute
for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), we are
leveraging the power of high-volume data collection from
networks of LCDM to establish baseline respirable hazard
levels and to monitor for changes on a seasonal basis as well
as following any application of control technologies. We
have seen the effective use and advantages of monitoring
live data before, during, and after events like shift changes,
operational changes, ventilation upgrades, adverse weather
events, and machine maintenance. However, many fac-
tors have prevented a systematic adoption of LCDMs for
exposure monitoring: concern for their analytical perfor-
mance, the complexity of use, and lack of understanding
of their value are some factors. This contribution outlines a
one-year case study at a mine in Wisconsin USA, covering
the installation, maintenance, data visualizations, and col-
laboration between NIOSH researchers and the industrial
hygiene professionals at the mine.
INTRODUCTION
Exposure to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) poses a silent
but potent threat to the health and well-being of workers
across a wide range of industries. Silica, in its fine particu-
late form, can become airborne during various industrial
processes, construction activities, and mining operations.
The hazards of crystalline silica exposure are not to be
underestimated, as they can lead to severe and often irre-
versible health consequences, including the development of
debilitating lung diseases such as silicosis and an increased
risk of lung cancer [1]. Silicosis is a fibrotic lung disease
characterized by the chronic impairment of normal lung
function due to the phagocytosis of crystalline silica within
the lung, resulting in lysosomal damage [2]. Dust contain-
ing crystalline silica is invariably created through the mining
24-079
Real-Time Dust Monitoring in Occupational Environments:
A Case Study on Using Low-Cost Dust Monitors for Enhanced
Data Collection and Analysis
Cody Wolfe, Emanuele Cauda, Milan Yekich, and Justin Patts
Health Hazards Prevention Branch
Pittsburgh Mining Research Division
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Pittsburgh, PA
Abstract
A worker’s personal exposure to respirable dust in occu-
pational environments has traditionally been monitored
using established methodologies which entail the collec-
tion of an 8-hour representative sample that is sent away
for laboratory analysis. While these methods are very accu-
rate, they only provide information on the average expo-
sure during a specific time period, generally a worker’s shift.
The availability of relatively inexpensive aerosol sensors can
allow researchers and practitioners to generate real-time
data with unprecedented spatial and temporal granular-
ity. Low-cost dust monitors (LCDM) were developed
and marketed for air pollution monitoring and are mostly
being used to help communities understand their local and
even hyper-local air quality. Most of these integrated sens-
ing packages cost less than $300 per unit, in contrast to
wearable or area dust monitors specifically built for min-
ing applications which have been around for decades but
still average around $5,000 each. At the National Institute
for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), we are
leveraging the power of high-volume data collection from
networks of LCDM to establish baseline respirable hazard
levels and to monitor for changes on a seasonal basis as well
as following any application of control technologies. We
have seen the effective use and advantages of monitoring
live data before, during, and after events like shift changes,
operational changes, ventilation upgrades, adverse weather
events, and machine maintenance. However, many fac-
tors have prevented a systematic adoption of LCDMs for
exposure monitoring: concern for their analytical perfor-
mance, the complexity of use, and lack of understanding
of their value are some factors. This contribution outlines a
one-year case study at a mine in Wisconsin USA, covering
the installation, maintenance, data visualizations, and col-
laboration between NIOSH researchers and the industrial
hygiene professionals at the mine.
INTRODUCTION
Exposure to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) poses a silent
but potent threat to the health and well-being of workers
across a wide range of industries. Silica, in its fine particu-
late form, can become airborne during various industrial
processes, construction activities, and mining operations.
The hazards of crystalline silica exposure are not to be
underestimated, as they can lead to severe and often irre-
versible health consequences, including the development of
debilitating lung diseases such as silicosis and an increased
risk of lung cancer [1]. Silicosis is a fibrotic lung disease
characterized by the chronic impairment of normal lung
function due to the phagocytosis of crystalline silica within
the lung, resulting in lysosomal damage [2]. Dust contain-
ing crystalline silica is invariably created through the mining