TSI Supports Oil Spill Response
June 9, 2010 – In response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, TSI Incorporated’s DustTrak™ Aerosol Monitors, SidePak™ AM510 Personal Aerosol Monitors, and PortaCount® Respirator Fit Testers are currently being mobilized and used to monitor and protect workers conducting clean-up activities. These activities include monitoring the burning of oil slicks, the application of Corexit® oil spill dispersant, oil skimming recovery operations, workers conducting shoreline clean-up activities, and respirator fit testing of workers.
A group of toxicologists working with a number of environmental remediation companies is conducting real-time monitoring at these various applications. This work is being done in order to come up with defined mass concentration action limits of the aerosols being generated from the various clean-up activities that have the potential to cause respiratory illnesses. Real-time photometers, which measure mass concentrations, are the instrument of choice to help determine safe working conditions for the protection of workers or when an upgrade in PPE (the use of respirators) is necessary.
TSI Incorporated’s DustTrak™ Aerosol Monitors and SidePak™ AM510 Personal Aerosol Monitors are being used to test the air to ensure that workers maintain a safe distance from the oil burn and spill dispersant activities or to determine when respirators are necessary. These monitors are continuous real-time 90° light-scattering laser photometers that simultaneously measure size-segregated mass fraction concentrations corresponding to PM1, PM2.5, Respirable, PM10, and Total PM size fractions. These monitors measure aerosol contaminants such as dust, smoke, fumes, mists, fogs, etc. They are suitable for outdoor environmental monitoring, construction sites, harsh workplaces, industrial applications, as well as clean office settings. Additionally, the PortaCount® Respirator Fit Testers are being used to quantitatively fit test workers being employed by environmental remediation companies to conduct clean-up activities.
Click here for more information.