Workplace Dust Monitoring in Middlesbrough
UKAS-accredited COSHH air sampling for Middlesbrough workplaces. Personal IOM-head inhalable and cyclone respirable methods, analysed at a UKAS-accredited laboratory. Chartered consultants covering Tees Valley.
COSHH dust monitoring for Middlesbrough employers
The Tees Valley is one of the most industrially intense regions in the country. From the Teesworks site (the UK's largest brownfield regeneration), through the chemical cluster on Wilton and Seal Sands, to the engineering supply chain along the river, virtually every Middlesbrough employer has a COSHH Regulation 10 duty to measure worker dust and fume exposure.
HSE North East and the COMAH inspectorate maintain a permanent presence on the Teesside cluster, and the expectation of UKAS-analysed personal sampling data is universal. We work routinely with mid-tier engineering, joinery and food businesses across the Tees Valley as well as with the larger chemical operators.
At Air Dust Odour we carry out personal breathing-zone sampling and fixed static monitoring across Tees Valley. 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 Middlesbrough 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 Middlesbrough 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 Middlesbrough engineering workshops, chemical sites, joineries and construction sites.
Respirable Crystalline Silica
Cyclone sampling per MDHS 101 with UKAS-accredited XRD analysis. WEL 0.1 mg/m³ — critical for Middlesbrough 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 Middlesbrough bakeries, food manufacturers, animal-feed mills and grain stores.
Gas & Indoor Air Quality (CO, CO&sub2;, VOCs)
Direct-reading multi-gas monitoring for Middlesbrough 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.
Middlesbrough & Surrounding Areas
We cover Middlesbrough and the wider Tees Valley, with no per-mile travel surcharges.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need workplace exposure monitoring in Middlesbrough?
If your Middlesbrough site generates dust, fume or vapour from processes such as metal fabrication, chemical manufacture, food production, joinery 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. Middlesbrough sits within HSE North East HSE jurisdiction, and inspectors increasingly expect to see recent, UKAS-analysed personal sampling data on file.
Which industries in Middlesbrough most commonly need dust monitoring?
Middlesbrough and the Tees Valley host one of the densest concentrations of heavy industry in the UK — chemicals and petrochemicals on Teesworks (the former SSI Redcar site), engineering and fabrication along the Tees, food and beverage manufacturers, and the joineries and construction firms supplying the Teesworks regeneration. Wood dust in joineries, welding fume across metal fabrication, respirable crystalline silica in stone and concrete cutting and inhalable dusts across chemical manufacture are all routinely monitored.
How much does a workplace dust survey cost in Middlesbrough?
A typical baseline survey for Middlesbrough 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 Middlesbrough site?
For most Middlesbrough 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 Middlesbrough 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 Middlesbrough 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.