Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of Industrial Ventilation Systems and Filtration for Silica Dust Emissions from a Mineral Processing Company

Respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in residential roofers is a recognized hazard resulting from cutting concrete roofing tiles. Roofers cutting tiles using masonry saws can be exposed to high concentrations of respirable dust. Silica exposures remain a serious threat for nearly two million U.S. construction workers. Although it is well established that respiratory diseases associated with exposure to silica dust are preventable, they continue to occur and cause disability or death. The effectiveness of both a commercially available local exhaust ventilation (LEV) system and a water suppression system in reducing silica dust was evaluated separately. The LEV system exhausted 0.24, 0.13, or 0.12 m 3 /sec of dust laden air, while the water suppression system supplied 0.13, 0.06, 0.03, or 0.02 L/sec of water to the saw blade. Using a randomized block design, implemented under laboratory conditions, the aforementioned conditions were evaluated independently on two types of concrete roofing tiles (s-shape and flat) using the same saw and blade. Each engineering control (LEV or water suppression) was replicated eight times, or four times for each type of tile. Analysis of variance was performed by comparing the mean airborne respirable dust concentrations generated during each run and engineering control treatment. The use of water controls and ventilation controls compared with the “no control” treatment resulted in a statistically significant (p < 0.05) reduction of mean respirable dust concentrations generated per tile cut. The percent reduction for respirable dust concentrations was 99% for the water control and 91% for the LEV. Results suggest that water is an effective method for reducing crystalline silica exposures. However, water damage potential, surface discolorations, cleanup, slip hazards, and other requirements may make the use of water problematic in many situations. Concerns with implementing an LEV system to control silica dust exposures include sufficient capture velocity, additional weight of the saw with the LEV system, electricity connections, and cost of air handling unit.

To control chemical hazard, engineering control is one of the Hierarchy of Controls that protects workers from chemical hazard. Engineering control is accomplished by removing hazardous conditions by placing a barrier between the worker and the hazard. Local ventilation system is widely used in laboratories to remove any chemical agents that are released from any chemical reactions. The importance of these ventilation systems is to prevent any health complications to persons in the laboratory due to chemical exposure. İn this paper, the effects and effectiveness of sash height to vapor source position to effectiveness of local exhaust ventilation (LEV) system were studied and identified using vapor flow from the stimulated carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapor. Eight LEVs were inspected. The stimulated vapor as a tracer was produced by mixing dry ice into hot-boiled water (100oC). The dispersion stimulated CO2 and water vapor inside and outside the LEV system, and this can predict the efficiency of LEV systems based on visual inspection. The results revealed that each LEV showed a different time taken to draw out the vapor from the inside of the fume hood.

During mortar removal with a right angle grinder, a building renovation process known as “tuck pointing,” worker exposures to respirable crystalline silica can be as high as 5 mg/m3, 100 times the recommended exposure limit developed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. To reduce the risk of silicosis among these workers, a vacuum cleaner can be used to exhaust 80 ft3/min (2.26 m3/min) from a hood mounted on the grinder. Field trials examined the ability of vacuum cleaners to maintain adequate exhaust ventilation rates and measure exposure outcomes when using this engineering control. These field trials involved task-based exposure measurement of respirable dust and crystalline silica exposures during mortar removal. These measurements were compared with published exposure data. Vacuum cleaner airflows were obtained by measuring and digitally logging vacuum cleaner static pressure at the inlet to the vacuum cleaner motor. Static pressures were converted to airflows based on experimentally determined fan curves. In two cases, video exposure monitoring was conducted to study the relationship between worker activities and dust exposure. Worker activities were video taped concurrent with aerosol photometer measurement of dust exposure and vacuum cleaner static pressure as a measure of airflow. During these field trials, respirable crystalline silica exposures for 22 samples had a geometric mean of 0.06 mg/m3 and a range of less than 0.01 to 0.86 mg/m3. For three other studies, respirable crystalline silica exposures during mortar removal have a geometric means of 1.1 to 0.35. Although this field study documented noticeably less exposure to crystalline silica, video exposure monitoring found that the local exhaust ventilation provided incomplete dust control due to low exhaust flow rates, certain work practices, and missing mortar. Vacuum cleaner airflow decrease had a range of 3 to 0.4 ft3/min (0.08 to 0.01 m3/sec2) over a range of vacuum cleaners, hose diameters, and hose lengths. To control worker exposure to respirable crystalline silica, local exhaust ventilation needs to be incorporated into a comprehensive silica control program that includes respiratory protection, worker training, and local exhaust ventilation.

In general, control of metal dust from hand-held disk grinders is difficult because such respirable dust tends to disperse in every direction around the grinding wheel and cannot be captured effectively by a conventional exhaust hood. The author described the application of a custom-made tool-mounted local exhaust ventilation (LEV) system attached to a hand-held disk grinder, and by laboratory experiments assessed its effectiveness at dust control. The effectiveness of the LEV for dust control was assessed by determining the respirable dust concentration around the grinding wheel during metal surface grinding with and without the use of the LEV. It was shown that the average respirable grinding dust concentration decreased from 7.73 mg/m(3) with the LEV off to 4.87 mg/m(3) with the LEV on, a mean dust generation reduction of about 37%.

This study assessed the effectiveness of a commercially available local exhaust ventilation (LEV) system for controlling respirable dust and crystalline silica exposures during concrete grinding activities. Surface grinding was conducted at six commercial building construction sites in Seattle, WA, by cement masons. Time-integrated filter samples and direct reading respirable dust concentrations were collected using a cyclone in line with a direct reading respirable dust monitor. Personal exposure levels were determined with and without LEV, one sample directly after the other. A total of 28 paired samples were collected in which three different dust collection shroud configurations were tested. Data obtained with a direct reading respirable dust monitor were adjusted to remove non-work task-associated dust exposures and was subsequently used to calculate the exposure reduction achieved. The application of LEV resulted in a reduction in the overall geometric mean respirable dust exposure from 4.5 to 0.14 mg/m(3), a mean exposure reduction of 92%. Despite the effective control of dust generated during surface grinding, 22 and 26% of the samples collected while LEV was being used were greater than the 8 h time-weighted average permissible exposure limit (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and threshold limit value (American Congress of Governmental Industrial Hygienists) for respirable crystalline silica, respectively.

Studies reporting the findings of exposure to crystalline silica dust during concrete finishing in construction settings are scarce due to the dynamic nature of the activity and the existence of many confounding factors. This study was initiated to explore the issue. A total of 49 personal respirable dust samples were collected during concrete finishing while workers used hand-held grinders. Only 15 (31%) of the grinders were equipped with local exhaust ventilation (LEV) systems. The confounding factors (e.g. wind velocity, wind direction, relative humidity and ambient temperature) were determined. To make the sampling task-specific, air sampling was activated only during actual grinding. Task-specific sampling times during each work shift ranged from 10 to 200 min. The concentration of total respirable particulate ranged from 0.34 to 81 mg/m3, with a mean +/- SD of 18.6 +/- 20.4 mg/m3, and the concentration of crystalline silica in the samples ranged from 0.02 to 7.1 mg/m3, with a mean +/- SD of 1.16 +/- 1.36 mg/m3. LEV on the grinders reduced the silica dust level significantly (P < 0.01) compared to grinders without LEV. Increased wind velocity also reduced the silica dust concentration significantly (P < 0.03). Working upwind reduced the exposure to silica dust compared to working downwind, but the difference was not statistically significant. The time-weighted average concentration of silica dust in 69% of the samples exceeded the current recommended threshold limit value of 0.05 mg/m3, indicating a strong need to devise methods for controlling workers' exposure to crystalline silica dust during concrete finishing activities.

Acute and chronic exposure to xylene can result in a range of negative health effects. However, xylene is widely used and emitted in the air of workplaces. To evaluate xylene vapor concentrations to guide the design and evaluation of a local exhaust ventilation (LEV) system to reduce exposure in a pesticide production factory. A real time volatile organic compound (VOC) monitor was used to determine the workers' time-weighted average (TWA) exposure. A LEV system was designed, and then, workers' exposure to xylene vapor was evaluated. We found that worker's exposure to xylene (4·7±5·5 ppm) was lower than the standards recommended by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) and the Occupational safety and health administration (OSHA). Despite the low TWA exposures, the short-term exposures for some workers were higher than STEL levels. Three canopy hoods were designed and installed with capture velocities of 0·508 m second(-1) and duct velocity of 10·16 m second(-1). We found that an exhaust ventilation system had a significantly reduced occupational exposure to xylene vapor.

The performance of a commercially available Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) system for controlling mist, vapor and fume exposures during two-piece slim retractable aluminium can production line was assessed. This study focused on monitoring of LEV system performance in different phases of production which are drawing and wall ironing. Data such as static pressure, velocity pressure, transport velocity and flow rate values was obtained as a specific requirement to analyze the performance of the system. The first LEV system used to control mist exposure from drawing activities and the second system was implemented to control fume and vapor during ironing wall process. The performance of the system was investigated and compared with standard as required by USECHH Regulation 2000. The results of LEV system monitoring were discussed and several recommendations were proposed to improve the performance of the system and to reduce the mist, fume and vapor exposure for occupational safety and health purposes.

The Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) is the most common type of engineering control equipment used to control employees' exposure to chemicals that are hazardous to their health. Before a contaminant disperses into the workroom environment, LEV systems operate on the principle of capturing it at or near its source. The welding guideline stated that the suggested minimum hood velocity is 100 ft/min, the recommended velocity along ducts for vapors, gases, and smoke is 1000 ft/min, and 2000 ft/min. The research objective is to identify the effectiveness of the LEV system using validation computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. The data collected by experimental design during the pre-testing phase of the LEV system is quantitative and obtained through a fieldwork survey and document analysis. Findings found that LEV systems are effective to be used and meet all the minimum requirements set by the guideline. In CFD simulation, upon validation, the average absolute error obtained from the case study is 8.4%. There is good agreement between actual experimental and CFD simulation results, and the acceptable validity of CFD simulation is less than 10%. Therefore, simple CFD modeling is a tool to simulate air velocity in the LEV system, saving labor costs and time consumption during the earliest stage of LEV design development before actual construction. This study's outcome can serve as a benchmark or guideline for training facilities equipped with the LEV system to prioritize safety and health.

시멘트 포장공정에서 발생하는 비산분진을 효율적으로 제거하기 위해 3가지 환기방식(국소배기시스템, 정전식스크러버시스템, 국소급기시스템)을 도입하고 풍량을 변화시키며 총 9가지의 조건에서 실험을 수행하였다. 분진의 농도는 시멘트분진 입자분포 특성을 고려하여 PM2.5, PM10, TSP로 구분하여 측정하였다. 3가지 환기방식에 대한 집진효율을 분석한 결과, 기존의 국소배기시스템과 정전식스크러버시스템이 같이 사용되는 경우 가장 효율적인 것으로 나타났다. 또한 정정식스크러버시스템의 풍량 증가에 따른 입자의 질량농도감소율이 큰 차이가 없는 것을 확인할 수 있었고 이로부터 정정식스크러버시스템을 <TEX>$2,700m^3/h$</TEX> 풍량으로 운전하는 것이 에너지절약 관점에서 효율적인 것이라고 판단되었다. 각 환기방식별 환기성능을 국소배기시스템의 풍량으로 환산한 결과, 대체시스템(정전식스크러버시스템, 국소급기시스템)분진제거성능이 우수한 젓으로 나타났고 정전식스크러버시스템이 국소급기시스템보다 상당히 효율적인 것으로 나타났다. 따라서 기존의 국소배기시스템파 정전식스크러버시스템을 동시에 가동한다면 국소배기시스템의 풍량만을 증가시키는 경우에 비해 반송동력을 줄일 수 있어 분진제거와 에너지절감측면에서 훨씬 효율적이라는 것을 알 수 있었다. We performed the experimental study on the control of suspended dust in a cement packaging process for various ventilation systems. To effectively remove the dust generated in the cement packaging process, three different kinds of ventilation system, such as local exhaust ventilation, electrostatic scrubber, and local air supply system, were adopted. Dust concentrations in the packaging process were measured with the variation of the airflow rate of the ventilation systems and then their ventilation performance were evaluated. From the results, we knew that the ventilation performance was the best when the local exhaust ventilation and the electrostatic scrubber were simultaneously operated in the packaging process. In the electrostatic scrubber system, the effect of the airflow rate on the indoor dust removal efficiency was negligible so hat he system ust be operated at <TEX>$2,700m^3/h$</TEX> for saving power consumption.

In a local exhaust ventilation system, where the pollutant or the emitted flows are captured near the generated source, the knowledge of the capture efficiency is necessary to evaluate performance. This article reports a study of the influence of the exhaust hood slot height on the capture efficiency. For this study, the emission of gases and vapors from open surface tanks used in industrial treatments has been simulated in an installation fitted with two ventilation systems: lateral exhaust and push–pull. Several configurations were possible by varying the geometrical and operational conditions. Both qualitative and quantitative evaluations have been performed, the former through observations of the flows using smoke and the latter by using sulfur hexafluoride as tracer gas. The results obtained on capture efficiency for both ventilation systems tested with several exhaust slot height and as a function of the operating flows rates, are presented. It was found that varying the exhaust slot height between 15 and 45 cm had no effect on capture efficiency. The results show that there are no significant differences between the exhaust slots heights tested, although, in the case of 60 cm for lateral exhaust ventilation, the efficiency was slightly lower. © 2008 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 2008

97/03169 The demise of the primary-secondary pumping paradigm for chilled water plant design

Chapter 6 - Commissioning, control, and maintenance of ventilation systems

Concrete grinding exposes workers to unacceptable levels of crystalline silica dust, known to cause diseases such as silicosis and possibly lung cancer. This study examined the influence of major factors of exposure and effectiveness of existing dust control methods by simulating field concrete grinding in an enclosed workplace laboratory. Air was monitored during 201 concrete grinding sessions while using a variety of grinders, accessories, and existing dust control methods, including general ventilation (GV), local exhaust ventilation (LEV), and wet grinding. Task-specific geometric mean (GM) of respirable crystalline silica dust concentrations (mg/m 3 for LEV:HEPA-, LEV:Shop-vac-, wet-, and uncontrolled-grinding, while GV was off/on, were 0.17/0.09, 0.57/0.13, 1.11/0.44, and 23.1/6.80, respectively. Silica dust concentrations (mg/m 3 using 100–125 mm (4–5 inch) and 180 mm (7 inch) grinding cups were 0.53/0.22 and 2.43/0.56, respectively. GM concentrations of silica dust were significantly lower for (1) GV on (66.0%) vs. off, and (2) LEV:HEPA- (99.0%), LEV:Shop-vac- (98.1%) or wet- (94.4%) vs. uncontrolled-grinding. Task-specific GM of respirable suspended particulate matter (RSP) concentrations (mg/m 3 for LEV:HEPA-, LEV:Shop-vac-, wet-, and uncontrolled grinding, while GV was off/on, were 1.58/0.63, 7.20/1.15, 9.52/4.13, and 152/47.8, respectively. GM concentrations of RSP using 100–125 mm and 180 mm grinding cups were 4.78/1.62 and 22.2/5.06, respectively. GM concentrations of RSP were significantly lower for (1) GV on (70.2%) vs. off, and (2) LEV:HEPA- (98.9%), LEV:Shop-vac- (96.9%) or wet- (92.6%) vs. uncontrolled grinding. Silica dust and RSP were not significantly affected by (1) orientation of grinding surfaces (vertical vs. inclined); (2) water flow rates for wet grinding; (3) length of task-specific sampling time; or, (4) among cup sizes of 100, 115 or 125 mm. No combination of factors or control methods reduced an 8-hr exposure level to below the recommended criterion of 0.025 mg/m 3 for crystalline silica, requiring further refinement in engineering controls, administrative controls, or the use of respirators.

The vortex ventilator (VV) is a new concept of a local exhaust ventilation system that uses a vortex flow to improve the directional capture ability and thus overcomes the critical defects of the general local exhaust ventilation (LEV) system. The LEV has a rapid decrease of the capture velocity with distance from the exhaust inlet, resulting in a very poor capture efficiency when contaminants are generated far away from the exhaust inlet. In this study, the capture characteristics of the VV are evaluated with respect to the capture efficiency as well as the capture velocity. Three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics simulations are performed together with experiments using the tracer gas method with SF6. Compared with simple suction, the VV gives more than nine times as large a capture velocity and thus has a capture efficiency of higher than 70%. The larger capture velocity and the higher capture efficiency of the VV guarantee a more flexible layout of the equipment in the working area.