title: Precision of the all-glass impinger and the andersen microbial impactor for air sampling in solid-waste handling facilities.
abstract: A method was devised to determine the precision of the all-glass impinger and the Andersen six-stage microbial impactor over a wide range of aerosol concentrations like those found in facilities which process solid waste. Simultaneous samples were collected inside a municipal solid-waste recovery system, and the data were treated statistically to estimate the precision of each air-sampling device. All-glass impingers yielded colony counts which indicated a linear relationship between samplers over an observed aerosol concentration of 1.1 X 10(3) to 2.8 X 10(7) colony-forming units per m3 of air. Impactors also yielded colony counts which indicated a linear relationship over an observed aerosol concentration range of 3.9 X 10(3) to 1.9 X 10(5) colony-forming units per m3 of air. The coefficients of variation for the all-glass impinger and the six-stage impactor in an environment with a high and variable dust level were determined to be 0.38 and 0.23, respectively.
mesh_terms: D000336:Aerosols; D000391:Air Microbiology; D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005658:Fungi / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008828:Microbiological Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation; D012037:Refuse Disposal
chemical_list: D000336:Aerosols