Dust Hazards

Processing aluminium material for parts production produces fine aluminium particles which are hazardous to safety, health and environment. Thus to control and reduce hazard of aluminium particles, local exhaust air ventilation (LEV) system is required. An accident in 2010 involving aluminium dust collection system of an aluminium industry in Prai, Penang leads the local occupational safety and health authority investigation and believed that the root cause of this incidental is vent malfunction and explosion that located at dust collector system. To prevent or minimizing this incident in future, improvement of venting design at the dust collector system is considered necessary. Forensic investigation, Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Risk Control (HIRARC) methodology and engineering control approach are used to identify and evaluate the incident in order to propose and suggest improvement for this facility. Using Fault-Tree Analysis and Why-Because technics in forensic investigation analysis lead to identification of hazards and root causes of the incident. The causes of the event are concluded as unsafe act by the operator, lack of supervision, lack of maintenance and design failure. Based on HIRARC methodology, appropriate suggestion and improvement was presented for future design improvement and assist in reducing the risk level and preventing the hazards of aluminium dust explosion.

Transportation is essential for economic and social development of a country and in most countries, roads are the main transport means especially in developing countries because means of transportation by air, water and railways are less developed.  Road transport leads to road traffic accidents which is a leading cause of death in Ghana and the world. Although a lot of interventions have been made to reduce the rising rate of road traffic accidents and associated socio-economic cost, the trend keeps increasing. The research aimed to investigate the safety management model used in Ghana to address the current outcome of road traffic safety. The study sought to understand if the components of the road safety management system used in Ghana had the capacity to achieve planned goals.
Data was collected by analysing secondary data and distribution of a well-structured questionnaire to twenty road safety professionals and researchers. Results of collected data was explored using interviews and statistically analysis of the questionnaire. The main conclusion of the research is that the traditional road safety management model adopted by Ghana to manage road safety has a very weak capacity to achieve targeted results.

In combination with the desiccation of the Aral Sea and the formation of the Aral Kum, the dry sea bed became a new source for dust and sand storms. Due to the highly continental climate and the effects of the global climate change in the region, increasing air pressure differences lead to an increasing frequency of high intensity wind events. The resulting aeolian dust movements can be tracked and split into short and long distance transfers using remote sensing approaches, but hard data about the spatial and temporal distribution of the dust deposition requires excessive ground research and thus is scarce. Therefore, we have analyzed the passive dust deposition data from 23 meteorological stations and assessed the spatial and temporal transfer patterns within several transects from the banks of the former Aral Sea in eastern and southern directions covering parts of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Dust was collected on a monthly base as well as during specific dust storm events between 2003 and 2012 in the framework of three research projects for both long-term and event based deposition data. Dust transfer in southern direction was the most important trajectory and the newly formed Aral Kum proved to be an important source region for aeolian dust (besides the natural deserts Kyzyl Kum and Kara Kum). Stations close to these source regions frequently showed deposition rates exceeding international thresholds, resulting in possible negative effects on human and livestock health while the mineralogical and chemical composition of the deposited material influences the arable land in this arid region. This presentation will summarize the most important findings from the three research projects and discuss measures to reduce the wind erosion in the Aral Kum.

This article intends to discuss and examine the influx of dust affects on urban environment and its impacts on the perception of residents in the field of architecture. In this context, it begins with the introduction of dust and its damaging effects on the human body and mind, and with the impact of human perception entries namely the human senses continues and the impact of dust on all the senses are examined. In this regard, the impact of dust on all the senses were studied, and then the type impressionability of senses that are directly associated with this phenomenon, was determined. The effect of these adverse events on mood, behavior, and especially in the human perception of the surrounding environment, were obtained through library researches. The dust influx to urban areas, makes disturbance in perception through the impact on the human senses. It also reduce the efficiency of architectural and urban environments and also their beauty and sense of pleasure.

Composition of dust transported locally, regionally, and globally has influences on human health, ecosystem functioning, and biogeochemical cycling. This study aimed to characterize differences between dust and soil samples at a dust source in the eastern Great Basin of Utah, USA. Dust and soil samples were collected from the Sevier Dry Lake, a known dust producing playa in this region. Samples were resuspended in the laboratory and collected using an 8-stage Davis Rotating-drum Universal-size-cut Monitoring (DRUM) impactor. Collected samples were analyzed for elemental concentration using Synchrotron X-Ray Fluorescence (SXRF). Element concentration was normalized and analyzed for enrichment relative to major soil element Al. Dust and soil samples contain similar enrichments of major soil elements including Si, Fe, Ca, K, Mg, and Ti. However, dust samples were significantly more enriched in Na derived from the surface salts of the Sevier Dry Lake. Minor soil elements (all elements analyzed apart from the major soil elements) were generally more enriched in dust samples and had larger enrichment values (up to 104) than seen in previous studies. Further, for dust and soil samples, the fine fraction (<2.5 μm) was more enriched in minor soil elements than the coarse fraction (2.5–10 μm). Dust from this source, containing elevated levels of potentially hazardous elements, degrades air quality in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area of Utah and is deposited in the alpine ecosystems of the Wasatch Mountains.

In Italy, the woodworking industry presents many
issues in terms of occupational health and safety. This
study, on exposure to wood dust could contribute to
the realization of a prevention model in order to limit
exposure to carcinogenic agents to the worker. The
sampling methodology illustrated the analysis of dust
emissions from the woodworking machinery in operation
throughout the various processing cycles. The
quantitative and qualitative assessment of exposure
was performed using two different methodologies.
The levels of wood dust were determined according to
EN indications and sampling was conducted using
IOM and Cyclon personal samplers. The qualitative
research of wood dust was performed using an advanced
laser air particle counter. This allowed the number of particles present to be counted in real time. The results obtained allowed for an accurate assessment
of the quality of the dust emitted inside the workplace during the various processing phases. The study highlighted the distribution of air particles within the different size classes, the exact number of both thin and ultra-thin dusts, and confirmed the high concentration of thin dust particles which can be very harmful to humans.

Due to the rapid population growth, advanced technology and continued urbanization worldwide, heavy metals are emitted into the ecosystem and cause negative impacts on health. This study represents the determination of street dust heavy metals copper (Cu), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni) and chromium (Cr) in thirty sites in Babylon governorate, Iraq and investigates the possible sources of the pollution. The analysis was carried out by using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer after the digestion process. The average concentration of Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Ni and Cr in the street dust were found to be 130.9, 201.4, 253.3, 2.2, 49.1 and 69.1 mg/kg, respectively. After performing a comparison with the mean of worldwide scale and values for uncontaminated soil, the findings indicated that there were high heavy metals concentrations in all sites. The main cause is the increased traffic across all areas which makes the vehicles disposed of different elements in the street dust. Moreover, the absence of regulation and lack of basic sewer and rain networks play a significant role to increase the heavy metals concentrations in the city. This research promotes a baseline data for heavy metals pollution in Babylon street dust which could afford to policymakers in order to adopt urgent environmental management strategies such as increasing green area and implementing new technologies to reduce environmental risks.

In a tokamak, plasma-wall interactions can result in production of dust. During operation, the tritium present in the Vacuum Vessel (VV) can then be trapped in the in-vessel materials but also in dust. The vacuum vessel represents the first confinement barrier to this radioactive material. In the event of a postulated accident involving ingress of steam into the VV, hydrogen could in principle be produced by chemical reaction with hot metal and dust. If the ingress of air into the VV is also postulated, reaction of air with hydrogen and/or dust cannot be completely excluded and could lead to a possible explosion which could challenge the VV tightness. In order to prevent such accidents and their radiological consequences, limitations on the accumulation of dust and tritium in the VV and on the air ingress are imposed. Correlatively, ITER has defined a strategy for the control of in-vessel dust and tritium inventories based on both measurement and removal techniques. In this context, this paper reports on the status of tasks under F4E responsibility aiming at developing some of the measurement systems and necessary R&D for the validation of the ITER strategy.

Abstract Recently, the World Health Organization’s
International Association for Research on Cancer classified
outdoor air pollution as carcinogenic to humans
and puts air pollution in the same category as tobacco
smoke, UVradiation, and plutonium. The ambient air is
polluted by emissions from motor vehicles, industrial
processes, power generation, household combustion of
solid fuel, and other sources. Dust storms lead to particulate
levels that exceed internationally recommended
levels, especially near the Sahara. However, this source
of air pollution appears to be under-studied, particularly
in the literature devoted to human health impacts in
West Africa. More than 50 % of the total dust emitted
into the atmosphere comes from the Sahara. These
aerosols contribute to increase the concentrations of
particles smaller than 10 μm (PM10), which are breathable
particles. This study is the first designed to assess the real impact of Saharan dust on air quality and respiratory
health of children in a region ofWest Africa. Dust
events having affected the Northern Benin during the
dry seasons between 2003 and 2007 were determined.
The analyzed health data are the monthly rates of acute
lower respiratory infections (ALRI). Over the entire
study period, 61 days of dust events were observed in
the region. They recorded on average a daily PM10
concentration of 1017 μg m−3, more than 18 times
higher than that calculated on all days without dust
events. The study also highlighted a mean increase of
12.5 % of ALRI rates during the months recording dust
events. The use of daily health data should help to refine
these initial results in the future.

Dust devils – convective vortices made visible by the dust and debris they entrain – are common in arid environments and have been observed on Earth and Mars. Martian dust devils have been identified both in images taken at the surface and in remote sensing observations from orbiting spacecraft. Observations from landing craft and orbiting instruments have allowed the dust devil translational forward motion (ground velocity) to be calculated, but it is unclear how these velocities relate to the local ambient wind conditions, for (i) only model wind speeds are generally available for Mars, and (ii) on Earth only anecdotal evidence exists that compares dust devil ground velocity with ambient wind velocity. If dust devil ground velocity can be reliably correlated to the ambient wind regime, observations of dust devils could provide a proxy for wind speed and direction measurements on Mars. Hence, dust devil ground velocities could be used to probe the circulation of the martian boundary layer and help constrain climate models or assess the safety of future landing sites.

We present results from a field study of terrestrial dust devils performed in the southwest USA in which we measured dust devil horizontal velocity as a function of ambient wind velocity. We acquired stereo images of more than a 100 active dust devils and recorded multiple size and position measurements for each dust devil. We used these data to calculate dust devil translational velocity. The dust devils were within a study area bounded by 10 m high meteorology towers such that dust devil speed and direction could be correlated with the local ambient wind speed and direction measurements.

Daily (10:00–16:00 local time) and 2-h averaged dust devil ground speeds correlate well with ambient wind speeds averaged over the same period. Unsurprisingly, individual measurements of dust devil ground speed match instantaneous measurements of ambient wind speed more poorly; a 20-min smoothing window applied to the ambient wind speed data improves the correlation. In general, dust devils travel 10–20% faster than ambient wind speed measured at 10 m height, suggesting that their ground speeds are representative of the boundary layer winds a few tens of meters above ground level. Dust devil ground motion direction closely matches the measured ambient wind direction.

The link between ambient winds and dust devil ground velocity demonstrated here suggests that a similar one should apply on Mars. Determining the details of the martian relationship between dust devil ground velocity and ambient wind velocity might require new in situ or modelling studies but, if completed successfully, would provide a quantitative means of measuring wind velocities on Mars that would otherwise be impossible to obtain.

In this paper, a deterministic analysis of one of the ITER reference accident scenarios, the so-called ”Ex-Vessel Loss-of-Coolant Accident”, and of its consequences for system integrity is given.

Using inflow rate data from a preceding MELCOR calculation, the evolution of the gas state in the ITER facility (vacuum vessel (VV), pressure suppression system (VVPSS), and drain tank (DT)) is calculated for the first 21,000 s of accident time with the GASFLOW code. Combining these results with new experimental data, for low initial pressures, on flame acceleration and transition to detonation, it is shown that a detonation in the VVPSS is possible, whereas the gas mixture in the VV and the DT never even reaches the flammability limit. To get an upper bound on the possible accident consequences, a detonation in the VVPSS was therefore postulated and simulated with the DET3D code. Using the resulting pressure loads for a structure–mechanical analysis of the end plate of the VVPSS with the ABAQUS code, it turned out that this end plate will almost fully change into the plastic state. Since this would violate the design rules of the ITER project, a further study of this accident scenario seems advisable.

Dust in its myriad forms impacts human existence in arid environments; but dust is more than an environmental nuisance. It shapes and reshapes adaptive response and human ideology over the short and long term. In 2011, the Gila River Indian Community (GRIC), Arizona, U.S.A. sponsored a study of dust entrainment within the jurisdiction of its airshed. The study’s primary objectives were to determine the relationship between sediment sources and sinks in premodern contexts and how indigenous people have coped with eolian activity since intensive settlement of the Middle Gila River Valley began. Ethnographic and archaeological sources indicate that people respect winds and observe cultural procedures consistent with their origin and to reduce their ill effects. Geomorphic data also show stratigraphic correspondence between relic wash channels and adjacent terrace and sand sheet deposits demonstrating a long history of eolian activity derived from fluvial sources. Climatological data fr...

Dust is one of the atmospheric pollutants that has adverse environmental effects and consequences. Dust fall contains particles of 100 microns and smaller which fall from the atmosphere onto the earth surface. The aim of this study isto determine the concentration oflead in dust fall samplesin orderto study the pollution level of this element in Zahedan,<strong> </strong>Sistan and Baluchistan Province<strong>,</strong> Iran. Therefore, sampling was carried out using 30 marble dust collectors (MDCO) for 3 months in the spring of 2015 to investigate the quantitative variation and spatial analysis of lead content in dust fall. These dust collectors were placed at 30 stations on the buildings' roofs with a height of approximately 1.5 meters across the city.According to the results, the mean lead concentration in the spring was 90.16 mg/kg. In addition, the zoning map of lead content shows that the lowest level of lead was measured at Imam Khomeini station, while Mostafa Khomeini station had the highest amount of lead.

Keywords:
Dust fall;heavy metals;pollution, Zahedan

In this research, the catchment area of the Karkheh River has been investigated in order to investigate the relationship between the sediment and the effect of climate change on the phenomenon of microstrip. In the first step, to determine the relationship between the grains and sediments, it is necessary to determine the origin of sedimentation and its gradation. Accordingly, some sediment samples were taken from the river bed. Sediment aggregate size measurement is an important tool for studying its origin. Currently, for statistical purposes, many samples are used, but these methods are time-consuming and difficult. The size of the sediment in the study of origin, and its relationship with the microorganisms , is an important factor. Therefore, the use of modern methods is essential. In the present study, the data of the sediment samples were introduced into the acetate gradient (statistical analysis program) to determine the texture and granulation of the sediment. The results showed that sand gravel texture is. Then sampling and testing on the microscopes showed that they are also of sandy origin, so it can be assumed that abrupt grafting of microspheres after sediment can cause sediment in the river. In addition, in order to investigate the effect of climate change on the micrographs, the relationship between three climatic parameters including rainfall, minima and relative humidity with the number of days with a rigorous refreshment for two years of 2015 and 2016 were analyzed. The results showed that, with increasing temperature and decreasing precipitation and relative humidity, the number of days with the coarse cutter increases, and as a result, it can be caused by sedimentation as part of sedimentation in the river.

The research included employment of the meteorological surface data such as surface pressure and wind speed and
direction to determine the sources of dust in Iraq through the study and analysis of dust phenomena that strike Iraq in 2011 and at
different times of the year. The results showed that Iraq was suffering to No. (18) dust storms in 2011. The highest wind speed
recorded at the beginning of the composition of most the dust storms ranged of 6-10 m/s and the lowest wind speed values ranged of
10-14 m/s, while the direction of the wind in No. (14) dust storms were flowed from NW (northwest), only No. (4) dust storms were
flowed from southwest SW (southwest), due to the fact that the prevailing wind in Iraq is NW in most days of the year. Atmospheric
pressure values recorded for the day of dust storms are ranged of 960-990 millibar, due to the existence Iraq under high pressure
system most days of the year. Satellite data of Meteosat 9 are used to determine the sources of dust over Iraq. Used the
Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations CALIPSO data to determine the vertical section of the dust,
during a dust storm.

In combination with the desiccation of the Aral Sea and the formation of the Aral Kum, the dry sea bed became a new source for dust and sand storms. Due to the highly continental climate and the effects of the global climate change in the region, increasing air pressure differences lead to an increasing frequency of high intensity wind events. The resulting aeolian dust movements can be tracked and split into short and long distance transfers using remote sensing approaches, but hard data about the spatial and temporal distribution of the dust deposition requires excessive ground research and thus is scarce. Therefore, we have analyzed the passive dust deposition data from 23 meteorological stations and assessed the spatial and temporal transfer patterns within several transects from the banks of the former Aral Sea in eastern and southern directions covering parts of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Dust was collected on a monthly base as well as during specific dust storm events between 2003 and 2012 in the framework of three research projects for both long-term and event based deposition data. Dust transfer in southern direction was the most important trajectory and the newly formed Aral Kum proved to be an important source region for aeolian dust (besides the natural deserts Kyzyl Kum and Kara Kum). Stations close to these source regions frequently showed deposition rates exceeding international thresholds, resulting in possible negative effects on human and livestock health while the mineralogical and chemical composition of the deposited material influences the arable land in this arid region. This presentation will summarize the most important findings from the three research projects and discuss measures to reduce the wind erosion in the Aral Kum.

Dust storms originating from Central Australia and western New South Wales frequently cause high particle concentrations at many sites across New South Wales, both inland and along the coast. This study focussed on a dust storm event in February 2019 which affected air quality across the state as detected at many ambient monitoring stations in the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) air quality monitoring network. The WRF-Chem (Weather Research and Forecast Model-Chemistry) model is used to study the formation, dispersion and transport of dust across the state of New South Wales (NSW, Australia). Wildfires also happened in northern NSW at the same time of the dust storm in February 2019, and their emissions are taken into account in the WRF-Chem model by using Fire Inventory from NCAR (FINN) as emission input. The model performance is evaluated and is shown to predict fairly accurate the PM2.5 and PM10 concentration as compared to observation. The predicted PM2.5...

Windborne dusts have been recognised as climatic indicators in the Sahel region, because of their ability to cause reduction in horizontal visibility. These phenomena have intensified after the exceptionally drought periods in the 1970s over the Sahel region. In this work, we have analysed the spatial and temporal evolution of visibility reduction in the Sahel-Sahara zone between 1957 and 1987. The results showed that windborne dusts were more frequent and severe over the western coast of West Africa. The zone characterised by the maximum variability included largely, the Sahel region (15° to 20°N). Stations in this region were characterised by a progressive reinforcement of suspended windborne dust between 1970 and 1987. Dust emissions in the Sahelian region increased during dry years and were associated with weak monsoon flux, African Easterly Jet (AEJ) reinforcement and weak Tropical Easterly Jet (TEJ).

The Sahara Desert is one of the main sources of particulate matter (PM) in the world. This PM has the ability to affect air quality thousands of miles from the source. The intrusions of this dust in the Caribbean are well documented; however, no intrusions of this pollutant have been reported in large Colombian cities. This article analyses and determines the possible relationship between the emissions of dust from the Sahara, and an episode of high pollution that occurred in Bogotá and Medellín at the end of June 2014. The data recorded by the air quality networks of Bogotá and Medellín, the dust column mass density of the Merra-2 project, and the results of the NMMB/BSC-Dust model were used. The origins and trajectories of air masses were tracked by implementing HYSPLIT. The aerosol subtype was obtained from the CALIOP-CALIPSO sensor.

The report on X International Scientific-Practical Conference "Engines and vehicle components: R&D and production, operation and service maintenance". 27-28 June 2017 Protvino, Moscow Region, Russia.
The report gives a brief description of the development of computer software for modeling of wear in the field of radial clearances of small-sized turbomachines when operating with dusty air. A brief description of experimental models intended for verification and testing of the software is presented. [in Russian]

Introduction and goal. The frequent intensive contaminations of the air over Stara Zagora town, South-East Bulgaria, in the period 2002-2004 are an object of the reported research.
Material and method. The daily data from the observations in six stations for environmental monitoring with manual sampling, working together in the mentioned period, published in Internet, are used for the analysis. Three of them were situated in Maritza Iztok energy complex – with coal mining and heat energy plants, and the rest three are in Stara Zagora – 40 kilometers North-West from the Maritza Iztok energy complex. The data for the discoursed period contain the daily concentrations on some air pollutants as well as the daily meteorological characteristics. After the mentioned period the governmental Regional Agency of Environmental Monitoring in Stara Zagora stopped posting on its site daily data, suitable for analysis, without giving any explanation on the cause of this decision.
Results. Conclusions are drown after the above mentioned analysis:
• Most intensive and frequent are the dust contaminations in the air over the city. The threshold limit values (TLV) frequently are exceeded. The contaminant increases in the mentioned period.
• Next by volume and frequency are the contaminations of the sulphuric dioxide. TLV are frequently exceeded. The contaminations with the sulphuric dioxide also become more frequent in the period.
• The contaminants with nitrogen dioxide increase in the period also, but they remain under TLV.
• The analysis of the meteorological conditions in combination with the relief shows that the peak contaminations with the above-mentioned three pollutants were recorded in cases of air transportation to the city from South, South-East.
• The analysis to the meteorological data and the relief, in combination with the analysis on the contaminations with nitrogen dioxide (possibly released at blasts) excludes the military zone “Zmeyovo” as a source of intensive air contaminations for Stara Zagora.
• The analysis showed that the main source of dust is the city Stara Zagora itself. The
contaminations of the air with dust are largest in the cases of air transport from south and from north as well. That effect has as climatic as well as urban prerequisites – the streets of the city are strait and are South-East, East-West situated, which coincides with the main wind directions for the city (from North). The contaminations can be reduced by regular street cleaning.
• The analysis revealed that the main contaminants with the sulphuric dioxide for the region are three heat power plants in the Maritza Iztok energy complex. For the Stara Zagora area the main contaminant from the three is BRIKEL, near Galabovo. The analysis revealed that sulphuric dioxide concentration increases on Friday and decreases on Monday. This analysis result in combination with the fact that in the day offs the monitoring stations do not work, imposes the conclusion that the regimen of exploitation of the air cleaning equipment is conformed with the missing control.