Integrated automated asbestos fibre-counting and digital certification technology

集成自动化石棉纤维计数和数字认证技术

• 批准号: 105739
• 金额: $ 22.18万
• 依托单位: ETHOS ENVIRONMENTAL LTD.
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Study
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2020 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=105739
• 关键词: Integrated; automated; asbestos; fibre; counting

Asbestos presents a major occupational and public health risk, both in developed regions (where the material can be disturbed in buildings), and in developing regions where extraction, processing and use shows no sign of abating. The epidemic that the UK in particular is experiencing is set to be replicated globally over the next 30 years, with 250,000 deaths per annum currently, and rising.When disturbed asbestos breaks down into extremely fine-sized, invisible fibres, and it does so in huge numbers: one breath may easily contain 10,000 fibres; a few hours unwitting work with asbestos may result in a lifetime's dosage. Controlling the airborne fibre is however very easy - but only if you know it is present. A key risk management step for such an invisible fibre then, is air monitoring - to alert the worker to its presence and to help understand the level of risk presented.The most common technique for monitoring asbestos fibres worldwide comes from the 1960s. It is slow and insensitive and - because it relies on close input of an expert microscopist user - is prohibitively expensive. As such regulators around the world are unable to stipulate its use for any but the most high-risk situations. The test method is also prone to unwitting bias , but also - given the commercially-conflicted environment in which much testing is undertaken - fraud and corruption, an unspoken credibility challenge for the industry and regulator.There have been many attempts to automate the manual method but none have matched the performance of the human analyst. We have developed a technology that has demonstrated potential to match and exceed the accepted regulatory performance standards of the human analyst. We are now looking to incorporate this into an integrated air sampling/analysis device. This will be incorruptible, delivering secure, near real-time data to the non-specialist user more cheaply and reliably than the existing technique. This has the potential to disrupt the existing markets and extend the role of air monitoring as a risk management tool significantly. Developing regions still using asbestos lack the health & safety infrastructure to maintain the quality control systems to support the existing method. This technology will place a cheap, "point&shoot" but high-integrity capability into the hands of workers, employers, regulators and local communities to help them implement and monitor the simple risk controls essential to avoid the global spread of an asbestos mortality epidemic.

石棉呈现出主要的职业和公共卫生风险，包括发达地区（在建筑物中可能会受到干扰），以及在开发区域提取，加工和使用的开发区域，没有任何减弱的迹象。在未来30年中，英国尤其经历的流行病将在全球范围内复制，目前每年有25万人死亡，并且在干扰石棉变成非常细小的，不可见的纤维时，它确实如此，并且确实如此。数量巨大：一口气很容易含有10,000个纤维；用石棉工作几个小时，可能会导致一生的剂量。但是，控制机载纤维非常容易 - 但前提是您知道它存在。当时，这种看不见的光纤的关键风险管理步骤是空气监测 - 提醒工人的存在并帮助了解呈现的风险水平。监测全球石棉纤维的最常见技术来自1960年代。它缓慢且不敏感，并且 - 因为它依赖于专家微观主义者用户的密切输入，因此非常昂贵。由于除了最高风险的情况以外，世界各地的此类监管机构无法规定其使用情况。测试方法也容易产生不易偏见，而且 - 考虑到经过大量测试的商业冲突环境 - 欺诈和腐败，对行业和监管机构的不言而喻的可信度挑战。已经有许多尝试自动化手动方法的尝试但是，没有一个与人类分析师的表现相匹配。我们开发了一项技术，该技术表现出了匹配并超过人类分析师公认的监管绩效标准的潜力。现在，我们希望将其纳入一个集成的空气采样/分析设备中。与现有技术相比，这将是廉洁的实时数据，可为非专家用户提供安全的实时数据。这有可能破坏现有市场，并大大扩展空气监控的作用。仍在使用石棉的开发区域缺乏健康与安全基础设施来维护质量控制系统以支持现有方法。这项技术将使工人，雇主，监管机构和当地社区的掌握廉价的“点与射击”，但高融合能力，以帮助他们实施和监控简单的风险控制，以避免石棉死亡率的全球传播。