Benefits of using real-time Personal Aerosol Monitor

At times, an Industrial Hygienist may not be aware how they can effectively use a real-time Personal Aerosol Monitor at the workplace. The benefits are often overlooked as the real-time personal photometric PM measurement is not an official reference method. We will sum up all the valuable information on how SidePak™ AM520 / AM520i Personal Aerosol Monitor can help them quantify the dust level and effectively use it at the work place.

The SidePak™ AM520 / AM520i Personal Aerosol Monitor is a small, portable, battery-operated, data-logging, light-scattering laser photometer that provides real-time aerosol mass concentration readings of dusts, fumes, mists, smoke and fog within a worker breathing zone.

This monitor is the perfect solution for real-time personal aerosol sampling in a variety of workplace environments; including but not limited to general industry, foundries, construction sites, chemical plants, refineries, petrochemical, power stations, automotive, aerospace, marine time, confined space works and mining.

The introduction of real-time photometer with intrinsic safety rating, SidePak™ AM520i Personal Aerosol Monitor, allows for application in the hazardous environment. This is the first intrinsically safe real-time personal aerosol monitor introduced in the market.

The SidePak not only provides real-time data, it also enables users to analyse time history data. This can be used for making decisions on the fly for workers over exposing to dust and other suspended particulates. It also allows corrective actions to be implemented real-time as compared to gravimetric sampling which needs a long wait for laboratory test results, typically a week later.

This is especially important for Industrial Hygienists working in the hazardous environment known to contain flammable gasses, vapours, dust etc. Real-time monitoring instruments can help the Industrial Hygienist determine if a worker should put on a respirator during the operation instantaneously. This eliminates the need to wait for the laboratory results from a sampling pump.      

Using the AM520 in real-time mode to implement control changes on the fly; and using sampling pumps to collect gravimetric samples to meet compliance (ensuring the worker exposure is below the Permissible Exposure Limit), both instruments complement each other to maximise efficiency for the company.

Read on to find out how an Industrial Hygienist introduced Real-Time Monitoring into his Company and view the video here.