Differential pressure response of 25-mm-diameter glass fiber filters challenged with coal and limestone dust mixtures.

This article summarizes results of research conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) at its Pittsburgh Research Laboratory. The objective of this work was to determine the correlation between the mass (M) of respirable coal and limestone dusts collected on 25-mm-diameter glass fiber filters mounted in cassettes and the increase in differential pressure (deltaP) that develops across the filters when drawing at constant air flow. Test aerosols were generated inside a laboratory dust chamber using various coal dusts, limestone dust, and mixes of the two.