As we are all aware, controlling dust in the workplace is imperative to maintain a safe working environment. It is important to understand that dust may be hazardous in two completely different, but not mutually exclusive ways.

First, a dust may be hazardous because it is detrimental to health – it may be an irritant or be carcinogenic, and exposure must be limited to mitigate hazards to personnel. Secondly dust may in certain circumstances be a fire and explosion risk, but may or may not also be a health hazard. A good example is flour; it is not hazardous in itself, but certainly has the capability to be dramatically explosive under the right conditions.

BVC Industrial Vacuum Cleaners from Quirepace tick all the boxes. With the HSE focussing on the requirement for “M” and “H” class vacuums for general use in the workplace, Quirepace have introduced the new IV40DM and IV40DH. “M” and “H” vacuum cleaners must collect into a disposable bag rather than directly into the collecting tank. These new machines have the same strong construction and heavy duty filtration of our popular IV40D but have been upgraded with additional HEPA filtration and disposable bag collection.

The BVC IV40H-ATEX continues to be available. This version of the IV40 adds a brushless motor protected with cooling air filtration on both the input and exhaust side of the turbine. Additional features and protections allow this version to be certified as ATEX rated for zone 22 dust areas.

So, when determining the correct machine for your job, ask yourself whether you are protecting against dust hazards for health reasons, or because the dust is potentially explosive under certain circumstances, or both. Our technical sales team are always available to advise and to arrange demonstrations.

Quirepace Ltd www.quirepace.co.uk 023 9260 3700