Assessment of suspended dust from pipe rattling operations

Abstract

Six types of aerosol samplers were evaluated experimentally in a test chamber with polydisperse fly ash. The Andersen sampler overestimates the mass of small particles due to particle bounce between stages and therefore provides a conservative estimate of respirable particulate mass and thoracic particulate mass. The TSP sampler provides an unbiased estimate of total particulate mass. TSP/CCM provides no information below ESD 2 µm and therefore underestimates respirable particulate mass. The PM10 sampler provides a reasonable estimate of the thoracic particulate fraction. The RespiCon sampler provides an unbiased estimate of respirable, thoracic, and inhalable fractions. DustTrak and SidePak monitors provide relative particle concentrations instead of absolute concentrations because it could not be calibrated for absolute particle concentrations with varying particle shape, composition, and density. Six sampler technologies were used to evaluate airborne dust concentrations released from oilfield pipe rattling operations. The task sampled was the removal of scale deposited on the inner wall of the pipe before it was removed from service in a producing well. The measured mass concentrations of the aerosol samplers show that a Gaussian plume model is applicable to the data of pipe rattling operations for finding an attainment area. It is estimated that workers who remain within 1 m of the machine centerline and directly downwind have an 8-hour TWA exposure opportunity of (13.3 ± 9.7) mg/m3 for the Mud Lake pipe scale and (11.4 ± 9.7) mg/m3 for the Lake Sand pipe scale at 95 % confidence. At distances more than 4 m downwind from the machine centerline, dust concentrations are below the TWA-TLV of 10 mg/m3 for the worker in both scales. At positions crosswind or upwind from the machine centerline there is no measurable exposure. Available data suggest that the attainment area for the public starts at about 9 m downwind from the machine centerline in both scales, as 24 hour average concentrations at these distances are smaller than the 0.15 mg/m3, the NAAQS for unrestricted public access. The PSD of the suspended plume is dominated by particles smaller than ESD 50 µm.