title: Successful experiences with a handy equipment to measure dust concentrations in various workplaces.
abstract: Performance of a direct-reading handy equipment for dust counting in workroom air, PDR (MIE, USA), was field-tested in comparison with the results of low-volume air sampling-gravimetry. Application in 64 workplaces of various type dust work with dust concentrations of up to 1.6 mg/m3 showed that the agreement was generally good with a correlation coefficient (r) >0.64. The calculated regression line had a slope close to one, and the intercept on the axis was next to nil, suggesting that the measurement with PDR is essentially the same with that by low-volume air sampling. Further analysis by types of dust work disclosed that the correlation was best when examined in 12 foundries with r as large as 0.95. In contrast, r was small (0.52) in 11 welding workplaces, possibly due to smaller particle size of dust generated during welding.
authors.affiliation: Kyoto Industrial Health Association, Japan.
authors.forename: Shiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takada
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Atsuo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kawaguchi
authors.forename: Satoru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Okamoto
authors.forename: Kae
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Higashikawa
authors.forename: Katsuya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Furuki
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ikeda
mesh_terms: D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational / Q000032:analysis*; D004391:Dust / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008669:Metallurgy; D009787:Occupational Medicine / Q000295:instrumentation*; D017132:Workplace
chemical_list: D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D004391:Dust