Exposure in the workplace - Measurement of the dustiness of massive materials that contain or can release nanomaterials or their aggregates and agglomerates (NOAA), or other respirable particles - Part 5: Orbital shaker method (Vortex)

The standard specifies the methodology for measuring and characterizing dustiness of bulk materials that contain or release NOAA, or other respirable particles, in standard and reproducible conditions, using the orbital shaker method (Vortex). The document describes the type of instruments and devices, and the procedures for calculating and presenting the results. It also indicates the guidelines for evaluation and how to report the data. The methodology described in this document allows: a) the measurement of the mass fraction of breathable dustiness, b) the measurement of the dustiness index based on the particle count in the airborne dust fraction having an aerodynamic diameter between about 10 nm and about 1 µm, c) the measurement of the emission speed based on the number of particles in the respirable dust fraction airborne with an aerodynamic diameter between about 10 nm and about 1 µm, d) the measurement of the distribution, based on the number of particles, in the released breathable aerosol, in the range of aerodynamic diameter between 10 nm to about 10 µm, e) the collection of airborne particles released in the respirable dust fraction for subsequent observations and analysis by electron microscopy. This document is applicable for the analysis of a wide range of materials including powdered nanomaterials.