Field evaluation of a passive personal air sampler for screening of PAH exposure in workplaces

Bohlin, Pernilla and Jones, Kevin C. and Levin, Jan Olof and Lindahl, Roger and Strandberg, Bo (2010) Field evaluation of a passive personal air sampler for screening of PAH exposure in workplaces. Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 12 (7). pp. 1437-1444. ISSN 1464-0325

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Abstract

New sampling methods are needed to simplify and enable frequent monitoring of workers' exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The sampler needs to fulfil some key operational requirements for occupational exposure assessments: (i) be useable as a personal sampler; (ii) work over 8 h exposure time; (iii) sequester PAHs both in gas and particle phase, (iv) yield reliable estimates of air concentrations. Here, a new smaller design of the traditional polyurethane foam (PUF) passive air sampler (PAS) (i.e. a 'mini-PUF') was introduced and assessed against these requirements in sites with elevated PAH concentrations. The exposure times were 2 weeks and 8 hours. The obtained sampling rates (R-values) were not significantly different between gas phase (0.4-3.3 m3 day-1, 0.3-2.3 L min-1) and particle associated PAHs (0.5-1.9 m3 day-1, 0.4-1.3 L min-1). The accuracy in estimating air concentrations was within ±25% from the active sampler for half of the PAHs for the mini-PUF under 8 h exposures. Significant correlations (p < 0.003) were found between personally deployed mini-PUFs and a co-deployed personal active sampling method. This together with the low costs and ease-of-use of the mini-PUF encourage application in exposure assessments.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Journal of Environmental Monitoring
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2700/2739
Subjects:
?? public health, environmental and occupational healthmanagement, monitoring, policy and law ??
ID Code:
137793
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
14 Oct 2019 15:30
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
15 Jul 2024 19:59