Blastcrete Equipment Company offers solution to OSHA’s new regulations.

Blastcrete Equipment Company introduces a dust suppression system that limits silica dust exposure in industrial, construction and mining applications. The patent-pending DustAway system consists of an innovative bulk bag design that attaches to a mixer to contain dust as the mixer fills. The bag’s dust ruffle encapsulates airborne particles, helping to control respirable dust. DustAway helps businesses meet new OSHA regulations for crystalline silica dust by controlling dust to within OSHA-permissible exposure limits, or PELs.

The DustAway system is the first system of its kind and will fit securely around mixer openings. The flexibility of the system allows for customers using material packaged in paper bags to convert to small bulk bags to address these new OSHA directives. For larger mixers, companies can work with Blastcrete to design a removable lid that will be available to fill the space where silica dust can escape.

“We recognize the challenges our customers are facing in meeting these new standards, and we want to work with them to solve their application challenges. The DustAway is a cost-effective way to meet OSHA’s regulations,” said Jim Farrell, Blastcrete Equipment Company CEO. “We will work with companies one-on-one to customize a solution.

Blastcrete will offer a variety of DustAway bulk bag sizes ranging from 500 to 3,000 pounds and customizable lids to fit new and existing machines, whether from Blastcrete or another manufacturer.

OSHA’s new regulations, which take effect in June 2017, limit permissible exposure limits to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air over an eight-hour shift. This level is roughly 50 percent of the PEL set 45 years ago for general industry and about 20 percent of the previous PEL for construction and shipyards.