Dustiness

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Dustiness is how likely a finely ground solid is to become airborne as dust when it’s moved or shaken. It depends on particle shape, size, and how particles attract or repel each other. More dustiness means a higher risk of inhaling dust. Dusty powders can create many tiny airborne particles.

Measuring dustiness helps protect workers. The amount of dust produced during handling depends on how the powder is handled, the humidity, particle size, water content, and other factors. Standard tests have been set up to measure dustiness in a consistent way. In Europe, EN 15051 (since 2006) describes two gravity-based methods: a rotating drum and a continuous drop system. The drum shakes the powder inside a cylinder with baffles; the drop method lets powder fall onto a surface. Some researchers can scale the drum down, but the standards often require tens or hundreds of grams of material, which can be hard for very expensive powders like nanomaterials or pharmaceuticals.

Nanomaterials add extra dustiness considerations because they can change exposure risk and the choice of controls. Electrostatic forces affect how well particles stay dispersed in the air. Dry nanomaterials usually pose a greater inhalation risk than when they’re in a liquid. It’s important to consider the material’s whole life cycle—from synthesis to disposal—when planning dust control.

NIOSH recommends strong containment and filtration when handling engineered nanomaterials, including high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters on local exhaust ventilation, lab hoods, low-flow enclosures, and other containment systems.