by Playfuls Staff |
22nd January 2007
U.S. government chemists have created a set of quartz dust reference materials to improve workplace safety.
[more] National Institute of Standards and Technology scientists say their materials provide more accurate measurements of the amount of quartz dust in the air.
Crystalline silica or quartz is one of the most common minerals on Earth and, when finely powdered silica gets in the air, can become a significant health hazard.
Monitoring silica dust in the workplace typically is done by collecting samples over a period of hours on a special air filter and using X-ray diffraction to determine the amount of silica present in the sample. To be effective, monitoring requires accurate measurements of micrograms of silica on the filters, which in turn requires precise calibration of the measurement system.
To help laboratories perform such calibrations, the institute developed a series of Standard Reference Materials with precisely measured quantities of breathable quartz ranging between 5 micrograms and 1,000 micrograms that can be used to validate the accuracy of lab measurements.
Research details can be found at https://srmors.nist.gov/tables/view_table.cfm?table=105-10.htm
© 2007 UPI
