In-Depth Survey: Preliminary Evaluation of Dust Emissions Control Technology for Dowel-Pin Drilling at Minnich Manufacturing, Mansfield, OH.

摘要

This study evaluated the performance of a commercially-available local exhaust ventilation engineering control used to reduce dust emissions from a dowel drilling machine. Compared with the use of no control during dowel drilling in concrete, the control significantly reduced respirable dust concentrations by 89% (p<0.0001) and significantly reduced respirable dust particle counts by 50 to 70% (p<0.0001). The particle size distribution of the dust emissions probably accounts for this discrepancy. Evaluations were conducted with and without a tent enclosing the dowel drilling machine. Results of the evaluations demonstrate the utility of using an enclosure to isolate a piece of construction equipment from the effects of its environment during a control evaluation. However, the use of this technique means that it would not be appropriate to compare the emissions measurements reported here to any exposure index. Recommendations that are expected to improve the effectiveness of the dust control are provided at the end of the report.