Most Americans are not fully aware of the road dust problem that exists across the nation. This dust is of a different makeup from what is found around in most homes. The dust that accumulates around on the furniture is made up of some dirt particles, but its main component is dead human skin cells that have fallen off the occupants of the dwelling.

For a particle to be considered dust, it must be smaller than 500 micrometers in size. This is why HEPA filters are used on vacuum cleaners and as part of the HVAC units in the homes, they trap 99.97% of all particles that are 0.03 micrometers in size.

Nuisance dust from the roads has a completely different composition and source. This dust is produced when the soil is disrupted and made airborne from wind or a passing vehicle, pollutants in the air, and the occasional volcanic dust that lingers around in the atmosphere.

There is little anyone can do about the volcanic dust problem. The source of the pollutant dust is the best place to control that problem source, and road dust can be controlled by economical means. The reason this is so important is the actual makeup of the dust that is kicked up when a vehicle passes over any road in America. In 1999, a study was conducted by Ann Miguel, PhD. and Glen Cass, PhD. of the Environmental Engineering Science Department at Caltech in Pasadena that studied the hazards from dust particles on the roads. They discovered that over 20 different sources of allergens were present on paved roads alone that exacerbated, or could actually cause, allergic reactions in people.

The Federal Highway Administration of America has reported there are over 3.9 million miles of roads across our nation of which 70% is unpaved. The dust and debris from these surfaces can contribute up to 10 million tonnes of airborne material in the form of dust each year, according to the 1997 National Air Quality and Emissions Trends Report conducted by the EPA. The spreading of this airborne nuisance dust had already been studied by the US Forestry Service. They estimated that for each vehicle that traveled just one mile down an unpaved road every day for a year would place 1 tonne of said dust into the air that would cover an area round the road up to 500 feet.

Common earlier road dust control  measures involved wetting the roads down with water. This is an effective but temporary solution that is still used today. Since nuisance dust has become a greater concern, better road dust control products  have been developed. These include the use of surfactants that last longer than water, but are still just a short temporary fix. Adhesives are used in some cases to bind the dust to the surface and seal it. An example of this type of product is tree sap or lignin sulfonate. Chlorinated salts are helpful in keeping the moisture level in place to help reduce the possibility of particles becoming airborne by the sheer weight of themselves.

Road dust is more than just a nuisance to those that have allergies, and products to control it are being developed and improved to meet this need on a continuous basis.

A valuable resource for more information on this environmental topic can be found at Soil Control International and their informative blog site.

Floor Sweepers and Floor Scrubbers from Tennant Features Tennant sweepers provide excellent debris pick up and dust control. They deliver superior, long lasting results even in the harshest environments with continuous up time and powerful sweeping performance.

Tennant sweepers control dust particles down to 3 microns. Tennant’s latest innovation, SweepSmart™, filters dust particles down to 0.5 microns.

1. Side brush sweeps debris into the path of the main broom
2. Skirt system creates a seal to maximise dust collection
3. Main broom contacts floor surface and flicks dust and debris into the hopper
4. Perma-Filter™ shifts airflow and forces the majority of dust, debris and moisture into hopper
5. Cyclonic filter system channels airflow to further remove dust and moisture from the air, redirecting it into the hopper
6. Nanofibre canister filter traps sub-micron dust particles resulting in clean air exhaust
7. The ErgoSpace™ operator compartment increases operator comfort, visibility and safety

Applications for Tennant Sweepers.

The Tennant SweepSmart™ system, available on the new S30 ride-on sweeper, uses a 3-stage dust control system for unrivalled performance.

* The first stage Perma-Filter™ keeps large bulky debris in the hopper
* The second stage cyclonic filter redirects fine dust and moisture back into the hopper
* The third stage flame-retardant nanofibre canister filter, filters sub-micron dust particles down to 0.5 microns

Benefits of the Sweepers

* Easy to use and it is built to last
* Extremely flexible, designed to clean a variety of surfaces indoors and out, without compromising performance
* Offers unparalleled safety with reduced noise levels, better sightlines and easy operation as well as significantly improved air quality

Tennant Industrial Sweepers include:

* 110 Walk-Behind Sweepers
* S8 Walk-Behind Sweepers
* S10 Walk-Behind Sweepers
* 3640 Walk-Behind Sweepers
* S12 Small Ride On Sweepers
* 6100 Small Ride On Sweepers
* 6200 Small Ride On Sweepers

The dust from a mine is significantly different from the dust you find in your home. Dust in your home primarily consists of dead skin while mine dust is almost exclusively a mineral in a fine powder form.

Most written definitions of mine dust include the following: dust from drilling, blasting, smashing or handling of rock. The majority of the dust created by one of these activities are too large to stay in the air for an extended period of time and account for about 40 percent of all dust created at a mine site. The remainder is less than 10 micrometers in size. The majority of these particles is less than 2.5 micrometers and come from the exhaust of equipment used on the mining site.

The smallest size particle is what is most hazardous to the population’s health. The larger dust particles are an eye sore and are cost a lot to clean up, but are less hazardous to one’s health.

The smaller particles do make certain health hazards that include respiratory problems due to the fact that they are in the air that is breathed in to the lungs. This can be minimized if mining personnel were to wear masks designed to filter out the dust.

Another way dust can be decreased on the mining site is with the use of a dust suppression system. This is where water is sprayed over piles of rocks and the ground, particularly in the loading areas. These particles will be absorbed by the water thus become too heavy to stay in the air and eventually drop back onto the ground from which they came

The large trucks that are used in the mining area are also responsible for kicking up a great deal of dust, but most of that is fugitive dust from the ground soil and not the mine dust.

Additional information can be found regarding how an erosion control blanket can be used to keep dust contained, especially in construction areas where dust is most prevalent. Check out the Dust Stop Zone for more Free information.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_D_Sierra

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is a useful resource on controlling dust. In Chapter 3 of the OSHA handbook, it explains why dust should be controlled, the various forms of dust control systems that are available, and how to select the correct one, and how to design a water spray system to limit the spread of dust.

Some reasons why dust should be controlled are to reduce and prevent the chance of dust explosions and fires. Also the reduction of accidents is greater with better visibility of the workplace. Reducing dust will also decrease the wear and tear on equipment and minimize the need for maintenance. For employees, less dust will require less protective gear that is needed as well as reduce the possibility of foul odors, which can have a negative effect on productivity.

There are three basic types of dust control systems that are being utilized today that companies can select from. There are systems that operate using a ventilation system in a building to remove or capture dust particles. There are also wet dust suppression systems at the ground level that use water to dampen the soil or other small particles that make them too heavy to become airborne. Airborne dust can also be thwarted with a water system where a spray can join with the particles causing them to fall to the ground.

There are four major parts to most industrial dust control systems. There is a capturing apparatus at the source of the dust. This is usually an exhaust hood. Attached to this hood is duct work that carries the dust to a dust collector. At the collector, the dust is taken from the air. At the end of the duct work, after the dust is removed from the air, is the fan and motor which is the power behind the airflow.

The main parts of a water spray system include the spray nozzle, a hose that supplies the water, and, of course, the water source. The most important part is the spray nozzle. This is where the spray pattern and velocity of the spray are regulated for a water spray dust control system.

Here is the problem. When you use a dust suppression product like Top-Seal Dust Control, You cause the soil to become less permeable. Thus Causing the water in the lake to stay in the lake. Eventually you will Flood your Solar Farm and then it will just be a nice place to dive.

In Los Angeles, California, the city’s Department of Water and Power (DWP) is eyeing flat, dusty, arid Owens Lake as the potential site for a future mega-solar farm, but the initiative is focused less on clean, renewable solar energy than on preventing the interminable dust storms generated by the dry lake bed.

Owens Lake started to run dry when, in 1913, the city began diverting water from the Owens River. By 1926, the former lake was a shallow hardpan. Today, it ranks as the largest single source of PM10 dust (windborn dust particles smaller than 10 microns) in the United States. In fact, one estimate suggests the lake produces up to 8 million metric tons per year.

The DWP thinks that covering 616 acres of the lake bed with solar panels could cut down on dust storms, which threaten the health of nearby Keeler and Ridgecrest residents by delivering up to 23 times the amount of airborne particulate matter federal levels suggest as safe.

The plan may be a good one, since attempts to achieve dust control by flooding the lake bed have met with limited success, and flooding – at least this year – may be further hampered by a cutback to California’s 2010 water delivery, limiting the state to 5 percent of the water it has normally been allotted over the past 40-some years.

The solar project is backed by $500 million in funding, which buys a lot of solar panels, but the proposal still has to win the approval of the California State Lands Commission, largely because the DWP wants the commission to waive an environmental impact review.

Another project deterrent may be the designation, by Audubon California this year, of Owens Lake as one of the 17 most important avian sanctuaries in the state, and an emerging “wetland in the making” as bird watchers record the return of record numbers of migrating waterfowl to the partially flooded lake basin.

The DWP has promised to continue flooding at least a portion of Owens Lake to appease these environmentalists, and is in meetings with Inyo County officials, ranchers and residents to win regional support for their proposal.

The response of the former is likely to be guarded; the response of the latter looks largely promising as the state eyes renewable energy resources like solar not only as power sources but badly needed boosts to a failing economy. California is in such dire financial straits that Los Angeles recently raided its recycling initiative fund to balance the budget.

Another plus on the project side is that flooding Owens Lake sufficiently to reduce dust uses enough water to supply 60,000 households. If the DWP plan, which proposes to flood a smaller area than normal for dust control, can salvage even a third of that water, it looks like an environmental win-win.

The DWP proposes starting the solar array with a small test plot, to see if solar panels and migratory waterfowl can coexist, and if a field of solar panels can actually help prevent dust storms.

This pilot project would generate about 50 megawatts by 2012, and save 2,460 acre feet of water per year, or enough to provide for about 4,000 households practicing water conservation measures.

This type of system is used heavily in any material handling facility. A good example is the coal industry. Carrying coal from one place to another, coal dust is produced. It is at these points where the greatest quantity of dust is introduced into the air, there is a nozzle or set of nozzles. The nozzles create a mist of water over the area where the coal dust is forming. When the small coal dust particles come in contact with the water, the dust absorbs the water. When this happens the dust particles weight increases, which causes them to no longer be airborne and land back into the pile of coal from where it came from.

This method has been proven to be cost effective in three ways. The surrounding area does not have to be cleaned up so there is a savings in manpower. The dust, if it was collected, would have to be disposed of, which means it is no longer a concern because it has been eliminated. Lastly, no extensive duct work system has to be installed as a requirement for a dust collection system.

A dust suppression system will not work in every place that dust is a problem, but where appropriate, it is a very cost effective system to deploy.