Scientists from Technical University Darmstadt and the Competence Centre for Environment, Austria have investigated ways to reduce exposure to the chalk commonly used to dry climber’s hands in indoor climbing gyms.
Stephan Weinbruch and team conducted experiments in several indoor climbing gyms in Germany to determine the level of exposure to climbers and gym staff, assessing the concentrations of aerosol particulate from different formulations of the chalk. They found that the use of liquid chalk (a suspension of magnesia alba in ethanol) produced the least particulate matter, and so switching to this product may provide a low-cost way of reducing the exposure of climbers and staff to chalk dust.
Read the details of the study here:
Reducing dust exposure in indoor climbing gyms
Stephan Weinbruch, Thomas Dirsch, Konrad Kandler, Martin Ebert, Gerhard Heimburger and Franz Hohenwarter
DOI: 10.1039/C2EM30289F
