Workplace Dust Monitoring in Swansea
UKAS-accredited COSHH air sampling for Swansea workplaces. Personal IOM-head inhalable and cyclone respirable methods, analysed at a UKAS-accredited laboratory. Chartered consultants covering South West Wales.
COSHH dust monitoring for Swansea employers
Swansea and the wider South West Wales region are dominated by Tata Steel Port Talbot and its supply chain, with engineering, joinery and food manufacturing alongside. The post-2019 welding fume reclassification is a major focus across the region.
We routinely cover Swansea, Neath, Port Talbot and Llanelli with personal IOM-head and cyclone sampling for welding fume, metal dust, silica and wood dust.
At Air Dust Odour we carry out personal breathing-zone sampling and fixed static monitoring across South West Wales. 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 Swansea 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 Swansea 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 Swansea metal-working workshops, joineries, food manufacturers and engineering sites.
Respirable Crystalline Silica
Cyclone sampling per MDHS 101 with UKAS-accredited XRD analysis. WEL 0.1 mg/m³ — critical for Swansea 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 Swansea bakeries, food manufacturers, animal-feed mills and grain stores.
Gas & Indoor Air Quality (CO, CO&sub2;, VOCs)
Direct-reading multi-gas monitoring for Swansea 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.
Swansea & Surrounding Areas
We cover Swansea and the wider South West Wales, with no per-mile travel surcharges.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need workplace exposure monitoring in Swansea?
If your Swansea site generates dust, fume or vapour from processes such as steel manufacturing, metal fabrication, engineering, joinery or food production, 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. Swansea sits within HSE Wales HSE jurisdiction, and inspectors increasingly expect to see recent, UKAS-analysed personal sampling data on file.
Which industries in Swansea most commonly need dust monitoring?
Swansea's industrial economy is anchored by Tata Steel at Port Talbot, with an associated supply chain across engineering, fabrication and metal handling. Welding fume, respirable crystalline silica from cutting and grinding, inhalable metal dust and wood dust in joineries are the most commonly monitored substances.
How much does a workplace dust survey cost in Swansea?
A typical baseline survey for Swansea 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 Swansea site?
For most Swansea 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 Swansea 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 Swansea 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.