Comparison of methods for personal sampling of inhalable and total lead and cadmium-containing aerosols in a primary lead smelter.
It has been proposed that future occupational aerosol exposure standards be based on particle size-selective sampling criteria that more accurately reflect worker exposure. In relation to methods currently used for determining individual workers' lead exposures, the widely used 37-mm, closed-face, plastic sampling cassette is known from laboratory wind tunnel studies to undersample significantly compared with estimations of aerosol actually inhaled, especially for large particles. The present study investigated the degree to which this is borne out in field sampling by using side-by-side sampling in selected work sites in a primary lead smelter. Exposures to "total" airborne lead and cadmium as measured using the 37-mm sampler (E37) were compared with exposure measurements using the institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) personal inhalable aerosol sampler (EIOM). There were 166 good sample pairs for lead and 55 for cadmium. The ratio (reflecting the fractional undersampling of the 37-mm sampler, as represented by the ratio EIOM/E37) was consistently greater than unity, by factors obtained by regression analysis ranging (for different parts of the plant) from 1.39 to 2.14 for lead and 1.29 to 2.12 for cadmium. The factor tended to be greater for parts of the plant characterized by coarser aerosol, consistent with the physical sampling characteristics of the two instruments. This research is important (1) in assessing the impact of implementation of new standards for lead- and cadmium-containing aerosols in the primary lead production industry, and (2) in the development of new occupational exposure limits based on the inhalable aerosol fraction.
Spear
T M
TM
Montana Tech, University of Montana, Butte 59701, USA.
Werner
M A
MA
Bootland
J
J
Harbour
A
A
Murray
E P
EP
Rossi
R
R
Vincent
J H
JH
D000336:Aerosols; D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational / Q000032:analysis*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002104:Cadmium / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007854:Lead / Q000032:analysis*; D016018:Least-Squares Analysis; D016014:Linear Models; D008669:Metallurgy
D000336:Aerosols; D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D002104:Cadmium; D007854:Lead