Comparison of respirable dust samplers for use in hard rock mines

Five respirable dust size selectors and eleven filter holders were compared, some at two flow rates. These included horizontal elutriators, impactors, metal cyclones and nylon cyclones. The comparisons were carried out both in the laboratory and in mines. The respirable dust on the filters was assessed by weighing, and where relevant, by X-ray diffraction for quartz with the use of a direct-on-filter method. The results obtained showed that the relation between most pairs of samplers could be represented by a straight line through the origin and that the personal samplers collecting more dust--the CAMPEDS impactor and the B.C.I.R.A. cyclone--gave higher reproducibility in the low dust concentrations found in many hard rock mines. The samplers based on the nylon cyclone were less suitable for hard rock mines containing a substantial proportion of quartz, though satisfactory in coal mines with their higher dust control standards.