Rank: Super forum user 
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What is the best way to go about dust monitoring in the workplace please? Scenario is a small company with a few woodworking saws and employees exposed to wood dust.
Thank you.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Rank: Super forum user
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In addition to the excellent advice from teh_boy, one useful tool is a dust lamp. There is information on this on the HSE website (or PM me with your e-mail address and I will send you what I have on this). This will allow you to visualise where dust is being emitted from individual machines. Incidentally, you do not have to spend a fortune on a Tyndall beam lamp. I use a flood light that you can attach to a video camera with a small, home made hood. Works just as well!
Chris
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Rank: Super forum user
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Thank you for the information. The client has been visited by HSE on a separate matter and I was a bit concerned he might pick up on lack of personal dust monitoring when he comes back. LEV seems effective, dust does not appear to be a major problem and there are no reported health issues. Employees complete an annual health questionnaire. I am just uncertain as to whether monitoring is required given that there is a 'WEL' for wood dust and wondered what the best way to go about this is. It would mean getting somebody in but where to start?
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Rank: Super forum user
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http://www.hse.gov.uk/co...industry/woodworking.htmby the sounds of things - i'd be more worried about skin issues! - I'll allow Chris to comment on that topic :) ) To answer the monitoring question... With my consultant hat on - I would say get an expert in and carry out personal monitoring With my practical Chemist hat on - I would use the anecdotal evidence to suggest that the exposure level is not approached In reality to hit 5mgm-3 the area would present as dusty, with visible dust in the air (see my link for info on use of a dust lamp, as backed up by Chris). At this level you would be wiping down surfaces on a daily basis Note - This is a massive guestimate and other circumstances must be considered so I am not suggesting you take this advice!!!! :) Reg 10 http://www.legislation.g.../2677/regulation/10/made suggests monitoring should be based on risk assessment.....
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Rank: Super forum user
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decimomal
Just to add to teh-boy's comments, I would be cautious about the employees completing an annual health questionnaire, unless this is administered on a one-to-one basis by someone with the appropriate qualifications, e.g. OH nurse.
The guidance indicates that this should be done by a competent person. How competent are workers to assess their own health? Might they ignore something just in case they were concerned that it might be used to get rid of them?
An example of the unreliability of self-administered questionnaires was when the HSE commissioned a study of dermatitis in print workers. Over 1000 questionnaires were returned, completed by the individual print worker. In the evaluation exercise some 60 workers who had said they did not have a skin problem were seen by a consultant dermatologist as a control. Of these 28% had a skin problem that was thought to have an occupational cause!
Health surveillance (and in my case particularly skin condition) needs to be carefully planned with appropriate expert advice so that the actual process matches the workplace conditions.
Chris
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Rank: Super forum user 
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We had an issue at my last place of work - we manufactured animal feed an unwelcome by product was grain dust, when we had a visit from the HSE; the inspector asked me about the dust problem. I told him that we did not have a dust problem - as I could see the whiole of the factory quite clearly - there were no visibilty issues - but there was build up of dust settling over the week (cleaned weekly). He again asked me, with a smile on his face, how I knew that we did not have a problem - I refered back to my dissertaion tiopic which was grain dust and told him that we did not have a problem - he then asked me what the levels of dust were! I could not answer this so had to get a survey done - which proved that we did not have a problem and we were operating well below the WEL. It did however reassure our workers that they were not breathing in large amounts of dust; and the HSE inspector went away never to bother us again.
PM me if you want the name and phone number of the company that i used - very reasonable cost and with the appropriate accreditations etc.
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