title: Measurement of respirable glass and total fiber concentrations in the ambient air around a fiberglass wool manufacturing facility and a rural area.
abstract: Little data are available on ambient concentrations of glass fibers which along with other manmade vitreous fibers are receiving increased regulatory attention. The purpose of this study was to measure glass and total respirable fibers around a large fiberglass wool manufacturing plant and a rural area. Samples were collected on mixed esters of cellulose filters using high-volume air samplers at flow rates of 1.2 m3/min. Fibers were counted using a modified NIOSH 7400B procedure. Glass fibers were found in very low concentrations for both areas sampled; 90% of the samples were below the detectable limit of 0.00001 fibers/cc. Average glass fiber concentrations accounted for less than 1% of the total fibers measured. Dispersion modeling was used to estimate ambient glass fiber concentrations around the plant. Predicted and measured results showed relatively good agreement.
authors.affiliation: Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation, Toledo, Ohio 43659, USA.
authors.forename: E D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Switala
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Harlan
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Schlaudecker
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Bender
mesh_terms: D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational / Q000032:analysis*; D002617:Chemical Industry; D005898:Glass / Q000032:analysis*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009515:New Jersey; D009820:Ohio
chemical_list: D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; C009753:fiberglass