Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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A Ir Tx' \ . : m - \ Gay Rains removes filters in orde Clinton ft Clinton Mills conducts semi-annual dust monitoring to assure compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The company retains Texcon, Inc. of Greenville to perform the actual dust monitoring. A team of trained technicians visits each plant every six months and utilizes space age looking devices called vertirai elutriators to collect particles of cotton dust which measure 15 microns or smaller that may be present in a work area. The company, in most every manufacturing area, is within the OSHA permissible exposure limits that have been set for the industry. In yarn manufacturing, (opening to slashing), OSHA has set the P.E.L. (Permissible Exposure Limits) at .2 milligrams per cubic meter of air; slashing and weaving, .75 milligrams per cubic meter of air, and warehouse, wastehouse, and other areas, .50 milligrams per cubic meter of air. It is almost impossible to understand the small amount of dust acceptable under the standard. For instance, think about two grains of salt in a large refrigerator. This will illustrate what the "standard" would look like in yarn manufacturing areas. Texcon technicians, using their air sampling techniques and equipment, operate the elutriators for a minimum of six hours on each shift. The elutriators are located in strategic spots throughout the designated work areas. The equipment is designed to collect the smallest particles which are to be respirable. The elutriators also capture other harmless substances which may be present in the air during the sampling process. Each cone-shaped cylinder is attached to a support which places the end of the elutriatrtr at th<* I imiwi WIIV u i IIIV uppiu/vn i IQIC I ICIgl II U1 LIIC Emplo ? ' H HL * J Rufus Handback Lydia 40 Yaars ffO - * - I I r to weigh them on digital scales. lills Conducts Sen m QL / ? A V ^ Br a v * A \ _ *5" Nita Barksdale places filters in ca average employee. The machine's vacuum pump draws air through the bottom of the device the same level that an employee breathes. As air is pulled through the elutriator, it passes through a special cassette attached at the top ot the cylinder. A filter in the cassette picks up only those particles of dust which are 15 microns or smaller, and the larger particles fall out before they move up yees Recogniz 0L John CoptUnd Lydia 25 Ymts R":.N^j^i f'?: I H ^ k" ^ ^ m^M~ i | Filters capture samples of resptrable du ni-annual Dust Mc tt*. Kav Shinman i the cylinder to the filters. At the end of the testing cycle, the filters are removed, collected in a series, and taken to a laboratory where sensitive electronic measuring devices weigh the particles which cling to the filters. Once the filter weights are determined and averaged, a special mathematical formula is used to calculate individual expoed For Long S< *V ^BMH B \\. M Pat Owens Office 25 Years Page 3 W MST v **fl 1 st Kay Shipman examines a cassette. mitoring i connect* fitter to vortical olutriator. sure limits. Individuals are then apprised of their exnosure levels Varinnc tunrl< nrartiroe and protective equipment are utilitzed to assure employee health and safety and compliance with the cotton dust standard. Over the years, Clinton Mills has spent and continues to spend huge sums of money to assure employees of a clean, healthy and safe environment. ervice R* win ii ii im S9tiiST* iwj^pii a wr**ry 2Zr ~ * WI?fl Sara Bolt Plant No. 2 25 Yoara