Experimental Road Dust Measurement Device

Abstract

Most unpaved road dust measuring devices have employed one or more of the air sampling techniques used by atmospheric scientists, namely, sedimentation, filtration, and photometric techniques. The dust measurement quantifications have been for a section of unpaved road either involving the use of moving devices, or at a point(s) along a section involving the use of a stationary device. Devices based on the photometric technique have measured and quantified dust on a real-time basis without laboratory analyses of field data, while devices based on the sedimentation and filtration techniques have relied on laboratory analyses of field data for dust quantification. The Colorado State University dustometer, an experimental road dust measurement device based on the filtration technique is presented in this paper. The device and technique were developed, field tested, and used in comparative fugitive dust emission studies at Colorado State University and documented by Addo and Sanders. The device, which is basically a moving dust sampler, consists of a standard high volumetric sampler with associated filter media and accessories mounted on the rear of a pickup truck. Many dust measurements can be made in a single day using the dustometer. The dustometer has proved to be a very quantitative, reproducible, and precise measurement device for unpaved road dust measurements.