BSRIA Instrument Solutions is best known for hiring or supplying equipment [and offering advice] to aid companies in complying with the ever more stringent testing requirements in the construction industry. Just occasionally something rather more exotic crops up and the latest of these was to supply nine TSI DustTrak IIDRX aerosol monitors, and the means to power them, for use in assessing dust emissions from salt pans in the Sua Pan Desert in North East Botswana. Regular watchers of Top Gear will probably remember the Sua Pan from the last series, when Clarkson's Intrepid Trio crossed this bleakest of landscapes with great difficulty and the wreckage of another three old bangers and recognise some of the difficulties inherent in using rather more delicate equipment in such unfriendly desert conditions.
The equipment is being used by Oxford University within part of a major research initiative headed by Dr. Giles Wiggs that also involves use of meteorological masts and other gear to monitor wind stress, temperature gradients, soil moisture [not a lot] and atmospheric visibility among others things, for ultimate use in the prediction of climate change. With the TSI DustTraks BSRIA has supplied environmental enclosures, heatshields and the free-standing solar panels that are needed to recharge the machines' batteries over the five months testing period. "Being able to monitor the size of the dust is crucial" said Dr Wiggs "Because different sized dust impacts on incoming solar radiation [and hence atmospheric warming] in different ways. The DustTraks are a vital bit of kit for us in this important project". The TSI DustTraks are considered to be by far the most advanced dust monitors available and BSRIA Instrument Solutions has found them invaluable for assessing and recording indoor air quality in buildings.
Other areas where these remarkable instruments have proved extremely useful are in industrial/occupational hygiene, outdoor air quality, emissions assessment and aerosol research but Dr Wiggs' project in Botswana adds the extra dimension of glamour to grab the attention.
For further information, contact BSRIA Instrument Solutions.
T: 01344 459314 E: info@bis.fm
Instrument sales, hire and calibration service based in Bracknell and Preston