Comparison of the 10-mm Nylon Cyclone, Horizontal Elutriator, and Aluminum Cyclone for Silica and Wood Dust Measurements

Abstract

The relative performance of the 10-mm nylon cyclone, the horizontal elutriator, and the aluminum cyclone were compared for silica and for wood dust by determining respirable dust concentrations simultaneously using the three devices in an environmentally controlled chamber at various humidity levels. The aluminum cyclone consistently reported significantly higher levels than the elutriator (22 percent higher for silica and 25 percent higher for wood dust), which in turn reported significantly higher levels than the nylon cyclone (21 percent for silica and 41 percent for wood dust). Humidity was found to significantly affect the ratio of nylon cyclone/ elutriator concentration and the ratio of nylon cyclone/aluminum cyclone concentration for respirable silica, with the ratio decreasing as humidity decreased. The type of dust was found to significantly alter the relationships between the various size-selective devices. The nylon cyclone appeared to collect proportionately less wood dust than silica, compared to the elutriator, and the aluminum cyclone collected proportionately more wood dust than silica. These differences among the three size-selective devices have implications for occupational hygiene dust sampling and the interpretation of results. In addition, further study of the aluminum cyclone is necessary to establish whether the oversampling problem has been overcome by recent design modifications. Also, investigation is necessary to identify the most appropriate respirable dust preselector, because the nylon cyclone appears to be the least conservative for health protection. Sass-Kortsak, A.M.; O'Brien, C.R.; Bozek, P.R.; Purdham, J.T.: Comparison of the 10-mm Nylon Cyclone, Horizontal Elutriator, and Aluminum Cyclone for Silica and Wood Dust Measurements. Appl. Occup. Environ. Hyg. 8(1)31-37; 1993.