The Dangers of Dust

Dust it seems is everywhere. A streak of sunlight peeking its way through our curtains is all that is required to indicate to us just how much dust is hanging in the air around us.

It is a common misnomer to assume dust, particularly household dust, is comprised of mainly dead skin cells. In fact dust can be comprised of anything from skin, soil, sand, oil, grease, soot and food – it all depends on what processes are happening nearby, for instance if you live near the coast you may find a lot of household dust consists of sand.

Dust is normally quite harmless and leaves nothing more than a fine coat on our polished surfaces. However, there is a sinister side to dust as dust can be comprised of any substance, which includes those harmful to humans. Dust is made up of minute particles from the size of a micron or two (a thousand of which make a millimetre) to much larger particles. The larger, weightier particles often settle quickly but smaller particles can float indefinitely in the air.

When toxic material such as asbestos is worked with, the fine dust can linger and stick to surfaces and can eventually be inhaled. These particles can cause serious genetic problems and lead to conditions such as asbestos related cancer (mesothelioma) in future years. Dust can also aggravate conditions such as asthma and allergies and can cause respiratory diseases such as bronchitis.

Dust is the main enemy of computer hardware too. Dust can block computer filters causing PCs to overheat. Dust also acts as an insulator which can cause further overheating and also clog up integrated circuit boards causing a short circuit, particularly if there are conductive materials making up the dust.

Dust can also be explosive. The dust created by organic compounds which includes powdered foodstuffs such as coffee, flour and custard can remain airborne and explode if dense enough and having come into contact with a spark or other source of ignition.

It is important in areas with large dust build ups to protect electrical equipment from causing a spark and to protect from the effects of dust on that equipment.

The easiest way to do this is to use an industrial computer enclosure. These PC enclosures can shield a computer, protecting it from being clogged up with dust and also protect any potential explosive atmosphere from catching alight due to the electrical workings of the computer.

There are several suppliers of industrial PC enclosures which are manufactured in various materials including food grade stainless steel, ideal for the food manufacturing industry.