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Industries We Work With 

The impacts of dust and air quality affect us all and are concerns for most industrial, commercial and public organistaions. We work in many countries beyond the British and Irish islands from Australia to the USA and Azerbaijan to Portugal. Our clients' activities are equally variable and range from running docks to managing the environmental impacts of steel works and from road construction to running museums.

Many industrial activities produce dust or impact on air quality; others may be adversely affected by neighbours' activities and the public have a direct and often increasing concern with undesirable impacts. It is essential that due consideration is given to the whole network of impacts at the earliest stages of planning as well as during and after implementation. 

DustScanAQ provides consultancy services to a wide range of sectors including:

  • Minerals, oil and gas
  • Food and agriculture
  • Transport and infrastructure
  • Planning and development
  • Construction and refurbishment
  • Power generation
  • Recycling and waste management
  • Manufacturing
  • Local and national government
  • Storage and warehousing
  • Docks, harbours and marinas
  • Public institutions - schools, hospitals etc.


     

MIC and SEM Case Study

Location: Derry/Londonderry                                                         Client: Apex Housing

Background

The client instructed DustScanAQ to carry out optical light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy on dust samples taken from a heat exchange unit from a property at Derry/Londonderry. The client was interested in the contents of the fungal material present on the grids of the unit and the overall makeup of the dust. A heat exchange unit was sent to DustScan for characterisation analysis. Samples of dust were taken from each grid side of the unit using a small brush.

Issue

The client would like to investigate if dust ingresses into the property as a result of the heat exchange unit.

Analysis

Dust samples from each component were collected onto a piece of paper using a clean brush. The material was then scattered evenly onto a translucent sticky pad, mounted onto a glass microscope slide and looked at under different light conditions in the microscope. For the SEM-EDS results, representative fields of view are presented, along with individual false-colour element maps to display the presence, absence and colocation of certain key elements.

Outcome

The results of the analysis show that all samples contained some proportion of fungal material which is thought to have grown in situ. However, the vast majority of fungal material was observed on the panels which are in contact with warm, humid internal air being extracted from the property. The panels in contact with fresh air being introduced into the building contained minimal amounts of any materials. Therefore, it is suggested that there is minimal dust ingress into the property as a result of the heat exchange unit. The other materials present in the samples are considered to be ‘typical’ household dust components such as hair and skin fragments, as well as textile fibres from furniture and clothing. Additionally, all samples contained materials from external sources, such as mineral grains.

 

DustScanAQ would be pleased to hear from you if you would like to discuss your requirements and how we can help you with your project, please contact us on 01608 810110 or email info@dustscan.co.uk.