Easy-to-Use Dust Measurement Device Allows for On-Site Calibration

The brand new CEL-712 Microdust Pro from Casella CEL is a rugged, handheld, data logging instrument for the real-time detection of airborne dusts, fumes and aerosols during the pharmaceutical manufacturing process. According to the company, it boasts the highest measurement range of any device of its kind currently available and features a unique filter that enables on-site calibration not possible with competitor units.

The risk of occupational exposure to chemicals during the manufacture of pharmaceutical products includes inhalation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from recovery, isolation and extraction activities, handling of wet cakes in drying operations and during wet granulation, compounding and coating processes. Risks also arise from uncontained filtration equipment as well as fugitive emissions from leaking pumps, valves and manifold stations — e.g., during extraction and purification steps.

Additional sources of inhalation exposures include chemical synthesis and extraction operations and sterilisation activities (e.g., germicides such as formaldehyde and glutaraldehyde and sterilisation gases like ethylene oxide) plus exposure to synthetic hormones and other endocrine disrupters. In secondary pharmaceutical manufacturing, workers may be exposed to airborne dusts during dispensing, drilling, milling and mixing operations.

The easy-to-use CEL-712 Microdust Pro is ideal for occupational health monitoring as well as industrial process monitoring, testing air filtration efficiency, site boundary monitoring, environmental measurement and research activities.

Featuring a large colour display and colour-coded screens to ease navigation, plus graphical facility, it provides immediate details of when and where excessive dust levels are occurring.

The CEL-712 Microdust Pro comes factory calibrated to internationally-recognised ‘standard’ dust but user-defined dust-type settings may be obtained by using an optional TUFF air sampling pump and gravimetric adaptor. This means that the user can calculate a correction factor for the actual type of dust being measured and ensures maximum accuracy for the application.

Further benefits include just three simple steps to take a measurement and a large memory capable of up to 500 measurements that can be downloaded into Casella Insight data management software where it can be stored and analysed.  

Information such as the time history of the dust level can be displayed, revealing the times and extent of particularly dusty events.

Reports can also be generated easily by location or person using the intuitive report wizard, with additional qualitative data provided that is not available with gravimetric air sampling methods alone.

Casella CEL, +44 1234 844100, www.casellameasurement.com.