Georgia Southern professor awarded grant, tests new technology to curb exposure to carcinogenic dust particles on construction sites

January 13, 2022

Exploration presents greater implications for health treatment environments 

Some of the most harmful contaminants aren’t seen to the naked eye, but Ga Southern College scientists are operating to protect development employees from this invisible danger.

In the construction earth, chronic publicity to crystalline silica, which is current in dust particles produced from drilling, grinding and sawing on work web sites, can direct to severe health care issues and preventable fatalities.

Atin Adhikari, Ph.D, affiliate professor in Georgia Southern’s Jiann-Ping Hsu University of General public Wellbeing, has been awarded a $28,400 grant from Poma 22, LLC, to take a look at new air curtain technological innovation that could shield design personnel from harmful good dust particles. 

As the principal investigator (PI), Adhikari will perform with co-PIs Aniruddha Mitra, Ph.D, professor of mechanical engineering, and Saman Hedjazi, Ph.D, assistant professor of civil engineering and building administration, from Georgia Southern’s Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Computing.

“This research is vital and modern simply because we will exam a groundbreaking know-how in opposition to wonderful dust publicity in development web pages that integrates a filtered air duct system into a tough hat, creating an air curtain or armor,” reported Adhikari. “If we get a promising end result, then this technological innovation can be utilized from other kinds of particles like bioparticles existing in healthcare function environments.” 

Graduate investigation assistant Victoria Clower, who is earning a Grasp of General public Health and fitness in environmental health sciences, values her involvement in existence-modifying investigate. 

“This analyze of new technological innovation on dust publicity management in development internet sites will be very valuable with the quantifiable final results showing the efficiency of the air curtain technologies,” she reported. “As an individual who is interested in occupational health, I am psyched to operate on a examine that could deliver an possibility for other innovations for workplace basic safety to increase.”

The U.S. Office of Labor’s Occupational and Protection Overall health Administration estimates approximately 2.3 million men and women in the U.S. are uncovered to silica at operate. Employees at chance can develop lung most cancers, continual obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and kidney disease. In addition, around 500 preventable silica-relevant fatalities manifest each individual 12 months. 

As an environmental general public overall health researcher, Adhikari has released a lot of peer-reviewed experiments on air quality and filtration. This undertaking will aim on screening a newly produced respiratory security technological know-how, the Z Movement Professional helmet, which gives a downward draft as a result of the entrance of the helmet, building an air curtain in entrance of the worker’s facial area. Prior research has observed that the air curtain is solid plenty of to deflect larger sized, noticeable particles. 

Adhikari and his group will carry out comprehensive subject testing of this new technology to ascertain if it is also productive security from high-quality particles, offering beneficial information and facts and justification on the readiness level of this item to safeguard development employees.