What Is The Best Kind Of Dust Collector For Respirable Silica Dust?

While respirable silica dust can be addressed with both source capture and ambient capture equipment, it is best to solve the dust problem at the source, if at all possible. Source capture ensures that you’re collecting the dust—which is often very fine and susceptible to floating away—as soon as possible and preventing it from affecting workers.

The diverse nature of respirable silica dust makes collecting it challenging. Silica dust can vary by particulate size, moisture level and volume—all depending on the process being used. Air quality engineers are able to advise you on the type of dust you have and the best way to mitigate it. For example, high-volume processes often lead to a short filter life among many dust collectors. This problem could lead to major filter replacement expenses, as well as an unnecessary burden put on maintenance staff. RoboVent engineers have decades of experience solving air quality challenges like these.

Here are a couple of the best options for collecting your respirable silica dust:

• RoboVent Senturion Series dust collectors. This unit provides powerful filtration to address silica dust from multiple operations, if needed. It uses automated controls and other means to run efficiently, saving money and maintenance time.
• RoboVent PowerBoom portable dust collectors. This unit has a boom arm attached that is capable of capturing dust at the source. With a reach of 17 feet, the unit is a powerful, flexible solution for dust capture.

Capturing respirable silica dust is more important than ever. In 2016, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) changed its standards for a worker’s exposure to crystalline silica dust. The new rule limits exposure to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air (μ/m3), a very rigid requirement that demands attention from facilities working with respirable crystalline silica.