Over The Horizon

Wool Dust

New Zealand knowhow is behind a large collaborative project in the UK which aims to investigate the cause and effect of wool dust in textile processing and what can be done to reduce any environmental or health problems associated with the dust.

"Many companies involved in wool processing are facing increasing problems due to wool dust," says engineer and project leader Greg Ellis. "The problem is particularly acute in the UK where all companies involved in wool processing now have to measure dust levels to ensure they meet recently established maximum exposure levels."

The project has been put together by WRONZ Eurolab Ltd, a commercial subsidiary of the Wool Research Organisation of New Zealand. It involves a consortium of six European yarn spinners and a UK environmental research company.

"While our UK consortium members are confident that they meet the health standards, they are keen to obtain more data on wool dust effects so that they can react accordingly if statutory levels are revised at a later date," Ellis says. "In addition, all the members see this information as vital for improving working conditions in their mills, and integral to their quality control systems."

The project will evaluate the factors influencing the generation of wool dust in different processing situations and identify any potentially hazardous compounds that may be in the dust. Armed with this information, they can look at devising a Code of Practice to reduce dust hazards. Advice on dust reduction techniques, such as extraction and exhaust systems, is expected to be sought after, as well as information on optimum blends.

"Although initially the work is being focused on providing answers for the consortium members, the Code of Practice will ultimately be sold throughout Europe and probably elsewhere. In addition, the findings will also be useful to companies supplying machinery, chemicals and dyestuffs, who may be able to use it to make changes to their products which will help reduce dust and related problems.

"The results will also provide a comprehensive database for international regulatory agencies in setting exposure levels and other safety standards. In fact, one of the problems for occupational health and environmental agencies has been a lack of hard data on dust generation on which to base maximum safety levels."

New Zealand wool is well known for its relative freedom from dust, according to Ellis. There are a variety of factors for this -- the country's pastures and grazing environment are, on the whole, much less dusty than in other places such as Australia. In addition to that, New Zealand scouring processes are rigorous, producing a final product that has significantly less dust than competing wools. The fine wool produced by merino sheep, for example, is prone to picking up dust and producing more dust-trapping grease. In Australia, the scouring yield for such wool is around 65%, whereas New Zealand merino wool scores consistently above 70%.

While much of the research and analysis is being done in Eurolab's Yorkshire facilities, some specialised testing will be carried out at the WRONZ laboratories in Lincoln, New Zealand.