Asbestos Case Study on Bulk Dust Levels of Railroad Cars and Trucks: Findings

This section of a study on the levels of bulk asbestos dusts in railroad cards and trucks is provided by the Occuational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA).  Exposure to asbestos is known to cause serious lung diseases such as mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer and asbestosis.

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Dust levels were 10 (real-time data) to 15 (air samples) times higher near the non-ventilated loading spout than near the ventilated spout. When the spout was not lowered to the bottom of the truck or when sand flowed over a rib, dust levels were up to 40 times higher than when the spout was kept near the top of the sand pile.

This was a problem for trucks with longitudinal ribs. By keeping the spout near the top of the sand pile, the free fall distance of the sand, the amount of airflow entrained in the falling sand, and the amount of dust generated were greatly reduced.

When loading enclosed hopper trucks, free falling sand generates dust inside the enclosed container. With sufficient exhaust ventilation at the spout, the dust was effectively contained. The controlled spout used in this case study operated at the designed ventilation rate, with a face velocity of 130 ft/min (400 ft3/min) for a loading capacity of 100 ft3/min of sand.

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