Construction industry
Construction dust can seriously damage the health of construction workers and, if exposed for longer times, can eventually even kill them. Dust is also one of the primary sources of disputes with nearby neighbors. Therefore, it is essential to adopt controlled engineering methods, work practice methods and dust suppression method to prevent and limit these health problems. To help workers, ABCDust offers intelligent and sustainable dust control and soil stabilization solutions for the Construction Industry.
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Impact of construction dust
Construction dust is a general term used to describe different dusts that you may find on a construction site. There are three main types:
- silica dust, created when working on silica-containing materials like concrete, mortar and sandstone (also known as respirable crystalline silica),
- wood dust, created when working on softwood, hardwood and wood-based products like MDF and plywood,
- lower toxicity dusts were created when working on materials containing very little or no silica, such as gypsum (e.g., in drywall), limestone, marble, and dolomite.
Each of these types of dust can be harmful.
Dust is not always an obvious hazard because the particles that do the most damage are not visible to the human eye and the health effects can take years to develop.
The main dust-related diseases affecting construction workers are:
- Lung cancer
- Silicosis
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Asthma
- Cardiovascular diseases,
- Ocular damage and loss of vision
Some lung diseases, like advanced silicosis or asthma, can come on quite quickly. However, most of these diseases take a long time to develop. Dust can build up in the lungs, damage them gradually over time, and the effects are often not immediately apparent. Unfortunately, by the time most people notice that they have a problem, the damage may already be severe and life-changing, with permanent disability and even early death.
Jobs at risk when done without the right controls include:
- Using a cut-off saw on curbs, blocks, paving slabs, roof tiles and other concrete products
- Chasing, scabbling or grinding concrete
- Drilling or coring for long periods, particularly indoors
- Abrasive pressure blasting
- Cutting and sanding wood with power tools
- Sanding plasterboard jointing
- Dry sweeping
- Demolition
Reducing the effect of construction dust
Three key steps that have to be considered while controlling the dust and its effects are (also see Wu, et al. 2016):
- Assessment of the risks: It is necessary to assess the risks linked to the work and materials. The tasks that involve more energy will result in higher risks. High-energy tools such as cut-off saws, grinders, and grit blasters could produce considerable dust in a very short time. Workers, who are doing the same kind of work daily (which involve dusts) or those in longer shifts, will be more affected by dusts. In general, more dust will build up in enclosed spaces.
- Controlling the risks: The operator can control the dust by using tools with proper enclosure, a mask with filters and safety goggles, in conjunction with watering, ventilation, and vacuum systems. Water damps down the dust clouds. To be effective, enough water should be supplied in the right quantities during the entire operation. Just wetting the material beforehand is not sufficient, and On-tool extraction removes dust.
- Review (the controls): It is also important to review whether the rules and protocols used are effective by carrying out dust exposure monitoring, cleaning, storing, and maintaining the equipment, and supervising the workers.
Benefits of Dust control and soil stabilization
For many industrial operations, sustainable and effective methods of dust control are a key concern. When it comes to dust suppression in construction sites, water is ineffective.
The practice of using water as the traditional medium for stifling dust is simple: applying moisture to the surface of dirt roads reduces dust by causing particles to stick together, as the Alaska DEC reports. As liquids go, water is fairly cheap, prevalent, and takes no special engineering to produce.
This doesn’t necessarily mean it’s suitable.Using water as dust control involves a combination of sprays, mists and water guns. While light, frequent application is better than infrequent and heavy usage, the nature of the H2O molecule means that areas dry quickly, according to the Guardian.
Whichever way you look at it, water is an ineffective, short-term solution to what can often be a large scale, long-term problem.
In addition, one of the greatest issues associated with using water as a form of dust control is wastage. Sufficiently quelling dust-related problems requires colossal volumes of water.
The good news is that there are better dust control alternatives available.
ABCDust offers smart and sustainable dust control and soil stabilization solutions for Construction Industry that can reduce dust emissions by up to 98%.
By using dust control and soil stabilization solutions on construction sites, many benefices will arise:
- Reduce dust emissions by up 98%
- Improve air quality
- Protect workers health
- Improve roads quality
- Increase productivity
Prevention is better than a cure, schedule a call
Recommended solutions from ABCDust
DMS-DS 100
DMS-DS® 100 is specially designed for soil stabilization and dust control of industrial roads, haul road and well-compacted surfaces, improving its overall strength and road materials agglutination.
Main attributes and characteristics :
- Reduce dust levels up to 85-95%
- Improve road braking distance, improving road safety
- Improve rolling resistance, reducing fuel consumption
- Non-toxic & non-corrosive product
- Excellent water and UV resistance
- Acid and alkaline waters resistance
- Non-ionic
DMS-DS
DMS-DS® is a highly effective dust suppressant, designed for Haul Roads, and high tonnage cargo (600 TON). DMS-DS® generates a dust suppression effect which eliminates 95-98% of the PM10-2.5 issued and improves braking distances by 35-82% compared to roads moistened with water.
Main attributes and characteristics:
- Reduce dust levels up to 95-99
- Improve road braking distance, improving road safety
- Improve rolling resistance, reducing fuel consumption
- Non-toxic & non-corrosive product
- Water and UV resistant
- Acid and alkaline waters resistant
- Non-ionic
- Transparent when dried - No Stains
- Highly concentrated
DMS-TDS
DMS-TDS ® is a highly effective non-ionic dust suppressor, designed to be applied on loading fronts and / or high frequency material transport systems on continuous belt lines. DMS-TDS® is composed of a proprietary mixture of non-ionic surfactants, nano-polymers and alcohols.
DMS-TDS® reduces water needs by up to 90%, suppressing dust by more than 85%, reducing the risk of lung diseases such as silicosis and increasing productivity by greater visibility.
Main attributes and characteristics:
- Reduces dust, increasing visibility and productivity in processes
- Reduce water consumption
- Highly concentrated
- It does not generate stains
- Water and UV resistant
- Resistant to acidic, alkaline and salt water
- Nonionic, nontoxic, non corrosive
CHEM-STAB
CHEM-STAB ® is a sulphonated chemical-based (ionic) soil stabilizer, formulated with ionizing complexes associated with ion exchange elements.
CHEM-STAB ® releases the water retained by chemical absorption in the soil particles, replacing it with more stable ions, which allow the bipolarity of the soil particles to be canceled, reducing the previously occupied spaces with the adsorption water, enhanced by proper compaction and surface sealing.
Main attributes and characteristics:
- Lower costs and construction times of roads with longer life
- Environmentally friendly, biodegradable
- It improves the properties of the native soil, reducing the need to transport materials and gravels
- Increase optimal density and support value
- Roads with less potholes and dust
- Lower accident rate
- Lower vehicle maintenance costs and greater passenger comfort
- Reduce maintenance and leveling by 75%
- Protect roads from rain and snow
- Not toxic, flammable, dangerous or corrosive
EZZIS PRO
EZISS PRO® enhance higher compaction densities and increase soil strength, stability and resistance, together with lower permeability to rain and now. EZISS PRO® provides long-lasting effects, because it modifies the soils water retention in a definitive way, allowing it to minimize the roughness and the wear of the road surface, reducing road building and maintenance cost and reducing dust levels.
Main attributes and characteristics:
- Improves loading capacity and structure
- Reduce potholes and deformations, reducing road grading and maintenance frequency
- Protects the road from rain and snow effects
- Reduces the need for aggregates, saving up to 35% of road building costs
- Improve the bases and subbases strength and bearing capacity
- Reduces aggregate loss and dust
- Lowers maintenance costs by up to 75%
- Lower costs and construction times while increasing the road lifecycle
- Increase passenger comfort, with fewer potholes and roughness
- Lower accident rate & vehicle maintenance costs
- Environmentally friendly and sustainable product, non-toxic, neither corrosive nor flammable
REDBOX
Red-Box® EPA near reference equipment for monitoring particulate matter at extreme emission points, such as crushing plants, mining roads, blasting, cement companies, etc. The equipment can measure mass and size at the same time and take gravimetric samples to control hazardous contaminants, such as silica.
BLUEBOX
ABCDust offers equipment and methodologies for environmental gravimetric samplings of total dust, respirable fraction for emission analysis, and monitoring of suspended silica. this equipment can be used for taking environmental samples of particulate material, pollutants, and gases. Also, our BlueBox® can be configured to measure total dust, respirable fraction, silica, gases, and vapors.
Dry Fog and Fine Mist Systems
DMS-FOG uses different stainless nozzles depending on the application purposes, which increases their duration and reduces maintenance. DMS-FOG uses controlled temperature technology to avoid water freezing in cold weather and assure constant dust suppression regardless of your weather conditions.
Water Cannons
DMS-Cannons are the ABCDust high-range cannon line for dust control, odor control, and fire fighting in industrial processes such as mining, landfills, construction, and forestry industry. Our cannons can be programmed and controlled via remote control or on-line, enhancing water and energy savings while increasing their performance.
Main technologies and models:
- Flow and water droplet atomisation control
- Automation and remote control
- High distance range
- Versatility and easy to use
