Respirable Crystalline Silica (Quartz) Reference Material

Background

Many workers are potentially exposed to airborne particles of respirable crystalline silica which can, if inhaled, cause a disease known as Silicosis. Quartz is the most common form of crystalline silica encountered in the workplace. Measurements have a role in assessing the protection of workers and it's important that analyses are accurate, especially when measuring critical dust concentration levels with low analyte mass. One potentially large source of analytical error is the choice of calibration dust. It's important to use a material of known crystallinity for the calibration test samples because results are more comparable and accurate.

Product Overview

The material (SIKRON F600, lot A9950) was sourced by HSL in 1980 from Quartzwerke (Frechen, Germany) and sized to the respirable range via a cyclonic sedimentation process. It is certified for its crystallinity through an published international comparison^[1].  Information on its aerodynamic and geometric particle size, surface area and X-ray diffraction and infra-red response are also included in the paper published from the international comparison.

Each bottle contains 5 g of respirable dusts.

An example certification report & the material safety data sheet can be found in the Useful Links section.

Product Benefit

The reference material A9950 was developed by HSE in the 1980s. Its particle size range, in the respirable fraction, is appropriate for the direct on-air-sample analysis approach outlined in the HSE Method for the Determination of Hazardous Substances (MDHS) 101Crystalline silica in airborne respirable dusts; where the method of calibration is to create an aerosol and to sample it using a respirable sampler. A9950 can also be used with other indirect analytical methods where calibration test samples are prepared by pipetting aliquots of reference material on to a filter from an isopropanol suspension.  The certified value was established though an international comparison which means that it has been internationally verified. Results are more comparable when they have been corrected for the crystallinity of the calibration dust. The product might also be useful as a positive control in toxicological tests.

Availability

Materials will be despatched within 2 weeks of receipt of order.

For product enquiries:

Please email: proficiency.testing@hse.gov.uk

For technical enquires:

Please contact Peter Stacey on + 44 (0) 203 028  2151 or peter.stacey@hse.gov.uk