Quarry Dust in a Changing World · Quarry Dust in a Changing World Craig Beyers Manager Consulting...
Transcript of Quarry Dust in a Changing World · Quarry Dust in a Changing World Craig Beyers Manager Consulting...
Quarry Dust in a Changing WorldCraig Beyers
Manager Consulting Services, Assured Monitoring Group
Unit 7, 142Tennyson Memorial Avenue – Tennyson – Queensland – 4105 Phone: 1300 662 495 – Email: [email protected]
• Past 12 months has seen increased focus on dust in quarries and extractive industries.• Two parliamentary enquires
• Review of Worksafe Australia Exposure Standards
• Amendment of the Ambient Air Quality National Environment Protection Measure
• Regulatory changes and increased interest represent sources of uncertainty for the quarrying industry
• New technology is leading to better management
20/10/2017Craig Beyers Assured Monitoring Group Pty Ltd
• Conventionally taken to refer to all particles with an aerodynamic diameter less than 75 µm.
• Comprises both natural and anthropogenic sources of varying sizes, chemical composition and toxicities.
• Varies significantly both temporarily and spatially dependent on the sources of emissions, atmospheric conditions and local topography.
• Not all dust is equal with some sources representing greater risk in terms of health and nuisance impacts.
20/10/2017Craig Beyers Assured Monitoring Group Pty Ltd
• Impacts differ depending on size, type and chemical composition.
• Therefore, a single concentration limit is unable to adequately protect for all dust sizes, types and sources.
• Understanding these differences and their impacts to the management of quarry dust is essential.
20/10/2017Craig Beyers Assured Monitoring Group Pty Ltd
Type of Dust Time Weighted Average (mg/m3)
Inhalable Dust 10
Respirable Dust 5
Crystalline silica (including quartz, cristobalite, trydimite) (respirable dust) 0.1
0.1
20/10/2017Craig Beyers Assured Monitoring Group Pty Ltd
• On many sites, the presence of visible dust is used as an indicator of dust management performance.
• In reality, the visibility of dust is complex and depends on a number of factors.
• A visible dust cloud may represent a hazard, however, the absence of a visible plume does not represent “safe” conditions.
• No safe level of dust.
20/10/2017Craig Beyers Assured Monitoring Group Pty Ltd
Type of Dust Time Weighted Average (mg/m3)
Inhalable Dust 10
Respirable Dust 5
Crystalline silica (including quartz, cristobalite, trydimite) (respirable dust)
0.1
20/10/2017Craig Beyers Assured Monitoring Group Pty Ltd
Type of Dust Averaging Period
Maximum Concentration
Standard
Maximum Allowable
ExceedencesPM10 1 day
1 year
50 µg/m3
25 µg/m3
None
None
PM2.5 1 day
1 year
25 µg/m3
8 µg/m3
None
None
20/10/2017Craig Beyers Assured Monitoring Group Pty Ltd
Type of Dust Averaging Period
Maximum Concentration
Standard
Maximum Allowable
ExceedencesPM2.5 1 day
1 year
20 µg/m3
7 µg/m3
None
None
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20/10/2017Craig Beyers Assured Monitoring Group Pty Ltd
0
0.005
0.01
0.015
0.02
0.025
0.03
0.035
0.04
Emis
sio
n F
acto
r kg
/to
nn
e
• Managing dust from a quarrying activity is not easy and takes considerable financial outlay and effort.
• An informed decision requires a clear understanding of the risks of uncontrolled (or status quo) emissions for both workers and nearby residents
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Source: Hedges, 2016
• Workplace health and safety legislation requires quarry operators to understand and assess the risks to workers health and safety.
• Generally requires monitoring regularly enough to provide a reliable assessment of risk.
• Environmental sampling requires larger sample volumes to allow analysis to meet the require detection thresholds.
• Numerous factors influence representativeness of samples including quarry operations, meteorology, placement of monitoring equipment.
20/10/2017 Assured Monitoring Group Pty LtdCraig Beyers
• Numerous options already available on the market to monitor air quality in real-time.
• Regulars both in Australia and overseas experimenting with technology.
• Through the IoT, manufactuerers are ffective ways of identifying key sources of dust, activities requiring further attention or the effectiveness of on-site controls.
• Typically, undertaken by experienced consultant and using real-time monitoring device to determine where dust emissions are generated.
• Monitoring data can be used to gain understanding of effectiveness of current controls.
• Can also provide information about worker exposure in individual work areas.
20/10/2017Assured Monitoring Group Pty Ltd
Craig Beyers
• Effective ways of identifying key sources of dust, activities requiring further attention or the effectiveness of on-site controls.
• Typically, undertaken by experienced consultant and using real-time monitoring device to determine where dust emissions are generated.
• Monitoring data can be used to gain understanding of effectiveness of current controls.
• Can also provide information about worker exposure in individual work areas.
20/10/2017 Assured Monitoring Group Pty LtdCraig Beyers
• Useful for testing overall effectiveness of control options.
• Generally requires assumptions to be made about operational and physical features of the quarry.
• CRAP IN = CRAP OUT
• Generally assess impacts of upper bounds of impacts through a worst-case production scenario.
20/10/2017 Assured Monitoring Group Pty LtdCraig Beyers
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Group Pty LtdCraig Beyers
• Relatively low cost
• Allows operator to manage dust management activities based on conditions and risk of impacts.
• Can be used to automate control activities (e.g. sprinkler operation).
20/10/2017 Assured Monitoring Group Pty LtdCraig Beyers
• Able to provide greater resolution on extent of potential impacts.
• Through coupling with monitoring data, able to provide an understanding of the accuracy of the simulations.
• Can be used to automate control activities (e.g. sprinkler operation).
• Process is well underway - new exposure standards expected in 2018.
• Respirable dust limit could reduce.
• For crystalline silica, change in exposure limit more likely (OSHA recently adopted limit of 0.05 mg/m3)
Revised Occupational Exposure Standards
• For PM2.5, recent changes to Ambient Air Quality NEPM saw the establishment of a long term objective.
• Likely future state regulations will seek to adopt this.
• Recent NEPM variation also removed previous 5 allowable exceedences per annum.
Environmental Dust
• Overall increased focus on dust emissions and, in particular, chemical composition of dust.
Community and Regulator Focus on dust
• Increased expectation of real-time information about impacts.
IoT Influence on Expectations
20/10/2017Craig Beyers Assured Monitoring Group Pty Ltd