General Manager:
Thandi Mjoli-Mfenqa
Tel: 011 4773300/1/2
Fax: 011 477 3393
Email: info@aermail.co.za

Postal address: P O Box 30981, Braamfontein, 2017

Physical address: 14 Second Avenue, Westdene, 2092

AER: Twenty years of solid air data

Dust monitoring pioneer takes control of reporting requirements

If clouds of dust are hanging over your mining or industrial operation, it’s time to call in Southern Africa’s leading dust monitoring consultancy – Annegarn Environmental Research (AER).

Founded by highly-respected atmospheric scientist Harold Annegarn, AER has been in the business for 25 years and has pioneered many of the techniques for dust monitoring around mines and quarries.

AER takes control of dust monitoring operations, providing reliable, independent data. The company has four imperatives: to quantify an operation’s contribution to dust deposition in the area, to identify possible problem areas, to track the progress of control measures and to demonstrate compliance with air quality standards.

Sampling is undertaken using five instruments: single bucket dustfall samplers, twin bucket and DustWatch directional dustfall samplers, stacked filter units (SFU) and fine particulate including PM₁₀.

AER staff work in teams of field officers responsible for the sampling logistics. Field officers place and retrieve dustfall samplers, logging pertinent data such as date, site, time of change, and the condition of the sample. Field officers also record meteorological conditions over the period such as rainfall, wind speed and wind direction. At certain sites, AER maintains automatic weather stations for this purpose.

Sample analysis is performed at AER’s in-house laboratory, dedicated to the processing of dust samples. The captured dust fall-out results are interpreted and presented in monthly, quarterly and annual reports in textual, spatial, graphical and tabulated formats. Reports cover operational aspects such as the sampling period, sampler recovery and problems encountered; standards for dust deposition according to the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) guidelines and SANS proposed dustfall standards; result analysis which highlights unusual dustfall levels; comments on significant increases or decreases in dustfall levels, and recommendations to reduce dustfall levels.

“The reports enable our clients to see what their air quality status is and from there they can do something to control or solve the problem,” says AER manager Thandi Mfenqa. “In the long-term the data gives our clients a good measure of progress and demonstrates environmental control. While our results comply with the SANS air quality standard, they are also regularly used in ISO 14000 systems.”

"AER operates across the country and is the leading dust monitoring service provider in Gauteng, Mpumalanga and the Northern Province. The new air quality standards incorporate dustfall standards that have been developed on the basis of AER’s long-term work," says AER founder Harold Annegarn.

“AER also maintains close association with academic researchers in the field of air quality so we are kept up to date in air quality management and dust management and with trends in Europe and North America,” Mr Annegarn says.

Durban-based environmental and occupational health services company ECOSERV purchased a 70% stake in AER in 2004. “The two companies complement one another and the investment presents opportunities to provide our clients with a broader service response,” says ECOSERV MD Quentin Hurt.

AER counts many blue chip companies among its clients, such as New Vaal Colliery, Anglo Gold American, Impala Platinum, Crown Gold Mine and Richards Bay Coal Terminal. “Clients stick with us because they trust our experience and know that we run an efficient service,” says Ms Mfenqa.