Trolex Air XS air monitor

Technology innovator Trolex, in collaboration with the NSW Government’s Centre for Work Health and Safety, has created the Air XS air monitor to detect and monitor silica dust in real time. The NSW Government invested $1.3 million over three years to support the research and development needed to bring the innovative air monitor to market. It is just one initiative of the NSW Dust Strategy 2020–22 to tackle dust diseases that include silicosis and asbestosis.

Previously, the only way to know if workers were exposed to dangerous levels of silica was to send air samples to a lab and wait for days or weeks for results. The Air XS’s ability to detect dangerous levels of respirable crystalline silica in real time should have a genuine impact on protecting workers from silicosis. The device provides an alert when silica levels are high, allowing workers, safety representatives and managers to respond instantly to changing levels of dangerous particulates.