NFFS Announces NEW Air Sampling Equipment Program for Members

Air sampling to test for employee exposure to airborne contaminants is a common OSHA required activity in non-ferrous foundries. Sometimes foundries will contract with outside vendors to conduct the required sampling, and sometimes they will perform their own testing in-house. NFFS recommends that foundries learn to do their own air sampling to reduce costs and ensure the accuracy of the resulting data sets.

Foundries must conduct air sampling for airborne contaminants such as silica, respirable and total dust, lead, and other metals. Specialized equipment, including calibrated air pumps, sampling trains, and flow meters, is required to meet OSHA-required sampling methodology. This equipment can be expensive to purchase and time consuming to maintain. Many foundries look to rent equipment from vendors, but these vendors can be difficult to locate.

When performing air sampling, a foundry must also identify a properly accredited lab capable of conducting multiple different types of analytical analysis, including x-ray diffraction analysis, to generate the sampling results for the foundry. The number of labs with the correct accreditations is very low.

In response, NFFS has created a new Air Sampling Equipment Program, which will officially launch on July 1. Under the new program, NFFS members will receive:

• Complimentary access to air sampling equipment,
• Free technical support via phone or email,
• A 15% discount on analytical services performed by our partner Analytics Corporation, and
• The ability to purchase pre-weighed Parallel Particulate Impactor samplers (PPI) at cost during the the reservation process, allowing members to begin air sampling immediately upon receipt of the equipment and samplers from NFFS.

Here is how the program works:

1) NFFS members order the sampling equipment and testing materials through the NFFS website at www.nffs.org/airsampling.

2) Upon receipt of the order, NFFS will contact the member to schedule the two-week loan period and confirm the anticipated delivery date for the equipment.

3) NFFS will ship the air sampling equipment package to the member. The package will include:

• (5) qty. BDXII air sampling pumps
• (1) qty. Gilian 5 station battery chargers
• (1) qty. 0-4 LPM Rotometer, non-adjustable flow
• Any optional pre-weighed sampling media purchased from NFFS during the ordering process
• Chain of Custody Form and shipping label used to submit samples to the laboratory for analysis
• A prepaid shipping label to return the air sampling equipment

4) Upon receipt, the foundry will have two weeks to conduct the required air sampling using the provided calibrated sampling pumps and using the proper sampling methodology.

5) After the required air sampling has been completed, the foundry will:

1. Return the air sampling equipment in the original packaging to NFFS using the prepaid shipping label;
2. Submit their sampling media to our partner Analytics Corporation along with the chain of custody form (instructions provided) using the provided label;
3. Receive the analysis report directly from Analytics Corporation with the resulting raw data;
4. Determine their own employee exposure levels and the need for additional action.

The Air Sampling Equipment Program will officially launch as of July 2022. Visit the NFFS website at www.nffs.org/airsampling for additional information.