Your construction site is unique in terms of size, type, and dust emission. This also means you’ll need personalized techniques to remove dust from air effectively. But with several dust control methods out there, which one is perfect for your construction site? Which dust control solution is cost-efficient without sacrificing effectiveness? Here are some solid dust prevention measures you should consider for your construction site.
Boost Surface Wetting with Chemical Additives
Surface wetting has been a go-to dust prevention solution for many construction site owners. While it’s an effective technique to contain dust particles and prevent them from becoming airborne, it consumes a lot of water which might be costly for most construction sites. How can then can you make dust control affordable and still retain its effectiveness? Well, when you combine surface wetting with chemical additives, you’ll be improving the power of water to suppress dust. This is to say the additives make the water more “sticky,” boosting the ability to bind dust particles together and keep them on the ground. This way, you’ll use less water without compromising the effectiveness of your dust control strategy. Eventually, you’ll spend less on wet suppression and lower operational costs.
Cover Bare Surfaces with Gravel
Unpaved or bare grounds expose the topsoil to getting blown into the atmosphere during movements. Covering such grounds with gravel provides a hard surface that protects the topsoil from fast motion. For instance, gravel eliminates direct contact of loose soil with fast-moving vehicle wheels that can throw a huge mass of dust into the atmosphere. While this doesn’t solve the dust problem entirely, it prevents a significant amount of particles from getting into the air. As a result, you achieve effective dust control in your construction site.
Use Chemical Agents to Increase Moisture Content on Surface Soils
Note that chemical agents in dust suppression differ from chemical additives discussed earlier on. The former is a stand-alone dust control technique, while the latter is mixed with water for more effective suppression. Chemical agents work when they are placed on the dust-invaded area. Due to their hygroscopic nature, they’ll absorb moisture from the atmosphere and this is what binds dust particles together thus preventing them from escaping into the atmosphere.
Slow down the wind and Monitor Vehicle Speed within the facility
Though it might not apply to all construction sites, fast-moving winds can stir up dust problems in a worksite – it carries away large volumes of loose soil on the surface and blows them into the atmosphere. In worksites vulnerable to fast winds, controlling the air currents streamlines dust suppression efforts. And to control the wind, you must create barriers like raising walls or surrounding your facility with trees to act as windbreaks. What’s more, fast-moving vehicles can send clouds of dust into the air. Therefore, monitoring vehicle speed within the facility prevents dust build-up. For instance, you can use speed signs to show speed limits that drivers must not exceed for effective dust control in your construction business.
There are dozens of dust control techniques, but only by selecting the right ones for your business will the suppression be effective.