Workplace Dust Monitoring in Durham
UKAS-accredited COSHH air sampling for Durham workplaces. Personal IOM-head inhalable and cyclone respirable methods, analysed at a UKAS-accredited laboratory. Chartered consultants covering County Durham.
COSHH dust monitoring for Durham employers
Durham has a broad industrial and construction economy. Every workplace generating airborne dust has a legal duty under COSHH Regulation 10 to measure worker exposure to airborne hazardous substances and to compare the result to the Workplace Exposure Limits in HSE document EH40.
HSE North East regularly inspects joineries, food premises and metal fabrication workshops across County Durham. We provide UKAS-accredited personal IOM-head inhalable and cyclone respirable sampling for Durham employers, plus direct-reading gas monitoring where relevant.
At Air Dust Odour we carry out personal breathing-zone sampling and fixed static monitoring across County Durham. Filters are sent to a UKAS-accredited laboratory and every result is compared to the relevant Workplace Exposure Limit in HSE document EH40. Surveys are planned and signed off by Malcolm Pounder CEnv MIAQM, a Chartered Environmentalist with two decades of hands-on air-quality experience.
Our Durham Dust Monitoring Services
Every survey uses the correct sampling head per HSE methodology and is analysed by a UKAS-accredited laboratory.
Wood Dust Monitoring (IOM head)
Personal sampling of hardwood and softwood dust at Durham joineries, sawmills, kitchen-fitter workshops and on-site carpentry. WEL 3 mg/m³ 8-hr TWA — one of the lowest dust limits in EH40 and frequently exceeded.
Inhalable & Respirable Dust
IOM-head inhalable and Higgins-Dewell cyclone respirable sampling for the general WELs (10 and 4 mg/m³). Routinely used at Durham engineering workshops, joineries, food manufacturers and construction sites.
Respirable Crystalline Silica
Cyclone sampling per MDHS 101 with UKAS-accredited XRD analysis. WEL 0.1 mg/m³ — critical for Durham stonemasons, engineered-quartz worktop fabricators, concrete cutters and quarrying operations.
Flour, Grain & Food Dusts
Inhalable food dusts including flour (WEL 10 mg/m³) and grain (WEL 10 mg/m³). Important for Durham bakeries, food manufacturers, animal-feed mills and grain stores.
Gas & Indoor Air Quality (CO, CO&sub2;, VOCs)
Direct-reading multi-gas monitoring for Durham offices, schools, plant rooms, underground car parks, confined space and construction sites. Calibrated electrochemical, NDIR and PID sensors for carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, total VOCs, NO&sub2;, H&sub2;S, O&sub2; and LEL against EH40 WELs and BREEAM Hea 02 benchmarks.
Durham & Surrounding Areas
We cover Durham and the wider County Durham, with no per-mile travel surcharges.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need workplace exposure monitoring in Durham?
If your Durham site generates dust, fume or vapour from processes such as engineering, joinery, food production, construction or stone and concrete cutting, you have a legal duty under COSHH Regulation 10 to assess and control worker exposure. Where there is no obviously low-risk exposure, monitoring with personal sampling pumps is normally the only defensible way to demonstrate compliance with the relevant Workplace Exposure Limit in HSE document EH40. Durham sits within HSE North East HSE jurisdiction, and inspectors increasingly expect to see recent, UKAS-analysed personal sampling data on file.
Which industries in Durham most commonly need dust monitoring?
Durham's economy spans construction, the University of Durham, joinery and the rural agricultural economy. The most commonly monitored substances are wood dust in joineries (WEL 3 mg/m³), respirable crystalline silica in stonework and concrete cutting (WEL 0.1 mg/m³), inhalable mixed dust in light manufacturing, and welding fume in metal fabrication (HSE Group 1 carcinogen since 2019).
How much does a workplace dust survey cost in Durham?
A typical baseline survey for Durham covering 4 to 8 workers with personal IOM-head sampling starts from around £750 to £1,200 plus VAT, with UKAS laboratory analysis at a UKAS-accredited laboratory charged at £35 to £85 per filter depending on the analyte. Travel from our base is included in the quoted fee — no per-mile surprises. See our cost breakdown page for worked examples across different industries and survey sizes.
How quickly can you survey a Durham site?
For most Durham sites we can usually be on site within 2 to 3 weeks of a confirmed booking, with sampling carried out over a full representative shift. Filters are dispatched same-day to a UKAS-accredited laboratory; results typically take 5 to 10 working days, and the written report follows within a further week. Where HSE has issued an Improvement Notice we can usually expedite the visit.
Do you cover Durham for COSHH wood dust and silica monitoring specifically?
Yes. Wood dust (hardwood and softwood, WEL 3 mg/m³ inhalable) and respirable crystalline silica (WEL 0.1 mg/m³) are two of the most commonly monitored substances on Durham sites — particularly in joineries, kitchen-fitter workshops, stone masonries, engineered-quartz worktop fabricators, and any construction or demolition site cutting concrete or brick. We carry both IOM heads and Higgins-Dewell cyclones on every visit and can combine the two sampling regimes on the same shift.