Particulate monitoring

“The key is understanding.”

Why real-time dust and silica monitoring technology?

Real time.

We hear it every day and it’s becoming a staple in everything we do. Whether it’s information on the weather or travel, valuable data relating to your health and lifestyle, or money and banking, our lives would be severely impacted without receiving real-time information, alerts and data. 

When it comes to health and safety in the workplace, real-time monitoring and real-time data is vital to managing control measures for exposure to hazardous substances, whether it be dust, gases or other substances. Real-time monitoring allows workplaces to see spikes in exposure do something about it. 

“Real-time monitoring is instant, in the moment, meaning you can do something about a problem and implement control measures.” – said Joe Marais, Occupational Hygienist and Product Development Manager at Trolex. “It allows you to try a new control measure and have a very quick indication of whether that has been successful or not in reducing the hazard.” 

When it comes to workplace health and safety, effective measures must be taken to protect workers, and real-time monitoring is the most effective way to provide this. “Real-time monitoring is a tool you can use in combination with the Hierarchy of Controls. Unfortunately, in certain circumstances like with crystalline silica, which is naturally occurring in so many materials, you can’t necessarily just eliminate it, and it can be quite difficult to substitute it.” 

“So, for the most part, you will need to introduce engineering controls and that’s where real-time monitoring comes in,” When carrying out an action that generates extremely large volumes of dust, or you know for a fact you’re being exposed to dust, you can introduce water suppression or other extraction methods to the activity to reduce your exposure and have an instant indication of whether the control measures have been effective.  

“If you’re able to incorporate real-time monitoring when applying the Hierarchy of Controls, you’ll quickly see whether what you’re doing to mitigate the risks of dust exposure is effective or not.” 

“You’re able to see the exposure concentration in real-time before the control measure is introduced, then once you introduce the control measure, you can immediately see if there is a drop in the exposure concentration.”  

Whilst real-time monitoring can support the decision making, implementation and surveillance of engineering controls, the effect this can have on entire workforces is also valuable. Part of the problem when it comes to introducing effective control measures is having the entire workforce understand the full extent of why it’s important to implement such measures and continue to follow the protocol surrounding it. 

“The key word is ‘understanding’. Do all workers truly understand why it’s being said when it comes to protecting themselves from hazardous substances or are they just listening to it and following instructions, unaware of whether they’re doing it right? Explaining something to someone so they can understand the long-term implications is the key. Or better, showing them first hand.”  

“Telling somebody in a backyard garage ‘You’re exposed to 20% of the crystalline silica exposure limit’ might not tell them anything useful. Putting it into a format where they can take it in, understand it and do something about it is where we can see real value and real-time monitoring gives us this.” 

“Showing someone, whilst they’re physically doing part of their job ‘this specific activity is causing x amount of dust’ and then showing them the changes in dust levels, in real time, after the introduction of control measures can be vital not only in increasing understanding for one worker, but awareness across the entire workforce.” 

With real-time monitoring and real-time data, you’re not only monitoring levels of hazardous substances as they happen but monitoring the effectiveness of any engineering controls and workplace safety as and when you need to, enticing others to understand and become aware of the importance of workplace health and safety. 

Real-time dust and silica monitoring

Learn more about how our real-time fixed, portable and personal dust and silica monitors  can help improve your safety processes and keep your workers safe from harmful particulates in the workplace today.

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    Personal Dust Monitoring

    Real-Time Dust Monitoring Technology: XD ONE vs XD1+

    What’s the difference between the XD ONE and XD1+?

    Trolex Personal Dust Monitoring Technology Comparison

    With an estimated 1 million people dying globally from the inhalation of dust in occupational environments every year, now is the time to protect your workers. Personal and portable dust monitoring provides a simple solution for all workers at risk of dangerous dusk regardless of their application, processes or industry. 

    We’re continuously innovating our real-time dust monitoring technology to give you access to the information to effect change and keep your workers safe from hazardous respirable dusts. Which is why we have developed the XD1+ Personal Dust Monitor and the XD ONE Portable Dust Monitor. 

    Both products provide a unique approach to personal, handheld, portable dust monitoring. It’s dust monitoring that doesn’t get in the way, that’s small and versatile enough to give you the freedom to do your job whilst making zero compromise on accuracy and reliability, remaining easy to use, simple to maintain and cost effective. 

    Our full portable vs personal dust monitoring comparison guide helps to identify the key aspects of each of portable and personal real-time dust monitors, highlighting the key USPs and capabilities of each product and helping you to best protect your workforce from harmful respirable dust in the workplace.

    Occupational lung diseases

    How much dust exposure is too much exposure before it’s too late?

    Where it’s not possible to completely ban the use of products and materials which create excess hazardous dust, one common solution, it seems, is imposing litigation and heavy fines for businesses who expose workers to dangerous dust.

    Over the last 10 years, businesses in multiple industries that have failed to adequately protect workers from excess dust exposure outlined within the hierarchy of controls, such as elimination or substitution of hazardous substances, or introducing control measures, have suffered enormous financial litigation for exposing people to hazardous dust which subsequently result in irreversible lung diseases.

    Whether it’s in heavy duty and highly dusty occupational locations, like construction, quarrying or mining, or just general public spaces or low dust and eco-friendly environments, the cost of dust exposure is large.

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      Personal dust monitoring

      AIR X real-time personal dust monitoring: What you need to know

      Our full portable and personal dust monitoring comparison guide helps to identify the key aspects of our XD ONE Portable Dust Monitor and XD1+ Personal Dust Monitor.

      Real-time personal dust monitoring

      With an estimated 1 million people dying globally from the inhalation of dust in occupational environments every year, now is the time to protect your workers. Personal and portable dust monitoring provides a simple solution for all workers at risk of dangerous dusk regardless of their application, processes or industry.

      We’re continuously innovating our real-time dust monitoring technology to give you access to the information to effect change and keep your workers safe from hazardous respirable dusts. Which is why we have developed the XD1+ Personal Dust Monitor and the XD ONE Portable Dust Monitor.

      Both products provide a unique approach to personal, handheld, portable dust monitoring. It’s dust monitoring that doesn’t get in the way, that’s small and versatile enough to give you the freedom to do your job whilst making zero compromise on accuracy and reliability, remaining easy to use, simple to maintain and cost effective.

      Real-time personal dust monitoring

      Learn more about our real-time personal dust monitor, XD1+, can help improve your safety processes and keep your workers safe from harmful respirable dust today.

      Want to know more?




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        Real-time monitoring

        Enhancing your workforce with real-time monitoring

        Real-time monitoring offers solutions to us in our everyday lives. Whether it’s the real-time alerts that tells you that you’re at risk or in danger, or the subsequent data which provides you accurate information on what you’re monitoring, real-time monitoring has become an essential part of our lives.   

        But what about real-time monitoring when it comes to enhancing the workforce? You’d rely on real-time monitoring and alarms to tell you there’s a fire in your home, so why wouldn’t you rely on real-time monitoring to tell you if you were a risk as serious to your health at work? You’d rely on real-time data to tell you if you needed to track nutrition or health trends, so why wouldn’t you rely on essential data in real-time in the workplace? 

        Whether it’s for the health and safety of you and your colleagues, to better understand the processes and efficiency of the business, or just to help aid decisions, real-time monitoring can provide valuable data to workforces across a whole range of industries. Whether you are monitoring for hazardous substances like dust or silica, or monitoring for HAV, sound levels or proximity measures, real-time monitoring can enhance your workforce. 

        Real-time dust and silica monitoring

        Learn more about our real-time fixed, portable and personal dust and silica dust monitors, can help improve your safety processes and keep your workers safe from harmful dust today.

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          Area dust monitoring

          Controlling air pollution and the implications on global respiratory health

          ‘PM’ or particulate matter, also known as particle pollution is the term for a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air. 

          It’s estimated that air pollution is linked to 43,000 deaths per year in the UK. Worldwide, at least 7 million people die each year from exposure to air pollution, with 91% of the worldwide population living in locations where the air quality exceeded the World Health Organisations (WHO) air pollution guidelines.

          These guidelines state that that annual average concentrations of PM2.5 should not exceed 5 µg/m3 and PM10 should not exceed 15 µg/m3 (both for 24-hour periods). According to the WHO, ‘fine particulate matter at PM2.5 can penetrate through the lungs and further enter the body through the blood stream, affecting all major organs’. Exposure to dust at PM2.5 can cause serious disease to the respiratory system, such as lung cancer and COPD, and also can effect cardiovascular diseases, such as a stroke.

          The image below demonstrates PM2.5 and PM10 size in comparison to a single human hair and a grain of sand.

          The Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the UK government ministerial department for environment protection, have also highlighted the severity of exposure to air pollution. This growing concern for the UK government estimated in 2010 that the cost of health impacts of air pollution was likely to exceed estimates of £8bn to £20bn.

          Although between 2005 and 2022, the UK’s PM2.5 emissions decreased by 41%, emission levels have been relatively steady with small annual fluctuations in the last decade. Industrial combustion is a major source of PM emissions, as well as emissions from industrial production also playing a major part, which can be linked to heavy-dust industry where hazardous particulates can become airborne. Despite some reductions in PM emissions, the threat still very much remains.

          REAL-TIME DUST MONITORING

          A solution to this is real-time dust monitoring. Real-time particulate monitoring allows people in heavy dust loading environments, including industrial applications, to not only understand, but alert them instantaneously when they are exposed to dangerous levels of air pollution. For example, our AIR XD Dust Monitor can alert people in real-time when legislative levels of µg/m3 are breached, over a time-weighted average (TWA) 8-hour period, for both PM2.5 and PM10.

          This technology not only offers a simple solution to individuals at high risk of exposure to air pollution by providing instant alerts, but also can help to prevent exposure in the future, as at-risk individuals can learn exactly when and where exposure to air pollution is highest and will likely occur. Thanks to real-time monitoring, both in the UK and Worldwide, we can reduce exposure to air pollution.

          Real-time, fixed area monitoring

          Learn more about our real-time fixed total dust area monitor, AIR XD, can help improve your safety processes  and keep your workers safe from harmful dust today.

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            Personal dust monitoring

            British stone manufacturers introduce real-time dust monitoring technology trial across workforce

            A manufacturer of prestigious natural stone, Burlington Stone have quarried for over 200 years across the English Lake District, extracting and crafting a diverse range of signature British natural slate and stone products.

            Individuals across their workforce are often exposed to hazardous substances, most notably airborne dust, including silica dust. Burlington Stone trialed two XD1+ devices on their site for a month to see how real-time, personal dust monitoring would improve their safety processes.

            After the trial, we spoke to Health and Safety Manager, Peter Walker, about the success of the trial and some of the major benefits which Burlington Stone’s workforce found deploying XD1+ Personal Dust Monitor units in their day-to-day processes.

            Real-time personal dust monitoring

            Learn more about our real-time personal dust monitor, XD1+, can help improve your safety processes and keep your workers safe from harmful respirable dust today.

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              Trolex safety technology

              A collaborative approach to protect tunnelling workers.

              With over 45 years of experience in the field of tunnelling, our partners, Timeco, are experts when it comes to tunnel boring machine (TBM), piling and foundation works, and other important activities involved in tunnelling. And when it comes to environmental monitoring for harsh tunnelling conditions, their partnership with Trolex has provided solutions to the entire tunnelling industry.

              “We are satisfied with the 20+ years of cooperation with Trolex, as our official partner, because of the mutual trust in the innovative organisation and the reliability, user friendly

              and durability of its products and solutions.” said Timeco, about the collaboration with Trolex to provide solutions to hazardous conditions in the tunnelling industry.

              Trolex’s product range, provided to the tunnelling market in Europe by Timeco, includes a full range of dust monitoring technology, including AIR XD Dust Monitor and AIR XS Silica Monitor, as well as gas detection equipment, such as TX9165 Sentro 8 and TX6351-2 Sentro 1, detecting for a full range of hazardous gases.

              Silica dust monitoring

              NEW TROLEX SILICA DETECTION TECHNOLOGY INSPIRES NEW APPG PERSPECTIVE ON RESPIRATORY HEALTH

              Silica – The next asbestos

              You may have seen The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Respiratory Health report ‘Silica – the next asbestos’ released in March 2020?

              In it, it states:

              “Construction workers are still 100 times more likely to die from a preventable occupational disease than from an accident. We also know that approximately 12,000 deaths in the industry each year are linked to exposure to dust and chemicals.”

              “Figures from IOSH show that roughly half a million people are exposed to RCS at work in the UK. They estimate that in Europe as a whole, 81% of these are employed in construction or in manufacturing products used in that industry.”

              Real time. Accurate. Affordable. 

              Experts at Trolex brought our new technology to the APPG’s attention and explained our nine-year silica detection R&D project that resulted in development of the new real-time silica monitor – work that we’d kept closely under wraps until mid 2021.

              Silica detection: A changing landscape.

              The original report refers to Workplace Exposure Limits (WELs) of dust. It says:

              “Dust monitoring is vital. Technology advances mean that new methods of real-time exposure level monitoring are now possible. Knowing what the actual exposure levels are is important as exposure will depend on the actual task (e.g. cutting concrete is higher risk than breaking concrete, and the actual exposures depend on the concrete mixture).

              The new Code of Practice for Tunnelling […] that requires the use of new technology which is just becoming available and gives an instantaneous measurement.”

              The instantaneous measurement the report refers to is the measurement of a variety of dust and particulates (something we already do with our AIR XD Dust Monitor and XD One Portable Dust Monitor, XD1+ Personal Dust Monitor products) – not specifically silica. Silica always being too difficult to uniquely identify. 

              Until now.

              Game-changing RCS Detection Technology

              Our new silica-specific monitoring technology is a game changer.

              By working with the authors of the APPG to share the features, benefits and thinking behind the new real-time silica monitoring technology they’ve been able to update the report with new advice on how to best protect workers from the dangers of respirable crystalline silica (RCS). 

              Real-time silica monitoring

              Learn more about our real-time fixed silica dust monitor, AIR XS, can help improve your safety processes and keep your workers safe from harmful RCS today.

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                Staggering lung disease statistics prompt urgent £5 million investment

                New studies from charity ‘Asthma and Lung UK’ (ALUK) found that lung disease deaths in the UK are the highest in Western Europe.

                The staggering statistics have prompted an expanded approach towards research and development of lung diseases from ALUK.

                 

                Serious Statistics

                ALUK’s studies show that cases of lung disease related deaths in the UK have been on the rise for the past 20 years.

                It is reported that 500,000 people in the UK died from deaths relating to lung diseases over a seven-year period.

                In 2018 alone, 84,721 respiratory deaths were recorded in the UK.

                The charity has described the state of lung health in the UK as ‘shameful’, stating the need for improved research and development solutions to the problem.

                More than just numbers

                After its relaunch in February, ALUK established a new five-year strategy upon the results of the study.

                Lung diseases are currently the third most common cause of death in the UK and it’s currently costing the NHS £9 billion every year.

                Despite this, lung-related health care is receiving less than 2% of public funding.

                Dispelling the misconceptions

                It is evident that the seriousness of lung problems in relation to other diseases is not taken as seriously, despite what we are seeing from the data.

                A predominant factor in the poor state of the nation’s lung health is that people believe lung conditions aren’t life-threatening. This is a major misconception.

                Through spreading awareness of how ‘shameful’ lung health is in the UK, this misconception can be dispelled.

                ALUK aim to reduce lung disease deaths by 20% by 2027. When making everyone aware of these gruesome statistics, this can become a possibility.

                The end goal is to provide support for everyone effected by all forms of lung disease.

                Research and innovation as a solution

                ALUK’s solution to achieving this goal is through research and innovation.

                Their aim is to expand their research and innovation programme so that £5 million is being invested into relevant research each year.

                With the aim to develop at least three new self-management tools” for 2 million people suffering with lung diseases, ALUK want to make training programmes and essential advice easily accessible to those who need it.

                “By 2027, we will give 80% of people with lung conditions the opportunity to access our network of Breathe Easy support groups” states the ALUK Strategy to 2027.

                With this, the strain on public healthcare is minimised and individuals are able to monitor their personal health through digitalised platforms and shared networks.

                Looking to the future…

                The statistics right now make for harrowing reading and harsh truths.

                However, for ALUK, research and innovation is the solution for the future. By identifying the problem and acknowledging its severity and scale, goals can be achieved.

                Through effective research and innovation lung disease deaths can become a thing of the past, not just in the UK, but worldwide.