A High-Flow Personal Sampler for Inhalable Aerosol

描述(申请人提供)：虽然职业性呼吸系统疾病对我国劳动力造成严重损害，但许多呼吸系统危害的现有暴露评估方法缺乏足够的检测灵敏度，使执业工业卫生员无法确定是否存在危害。这项研究的目标是设计一种高流量采样设备，旨在以生理相关的方式评估工作场所的可吸入气溶胶危害。该装置将显著提高取样器的流速，从而扩展整个方法的检测范围。这种设计价格低廉，很容易集成到常用的37毫米滤芯中。由于其低成本、准确性、易用性和适应性，该设备将得到广泛应用，特别是在暴露评估资源和预算有限的发展中国家。这种广泛使用是这项技术的一个主要设计目标，因为更多地使用准确的暴露评估技术最终将在国家和全球范围内加强对工人健康的保护。这个项目有三个具体目标。首先，设计一种廉价的模块化采样头，该采样头(A)与标准的37 mm盒式磁带对接，(B)以10LPM的高风速运行，以及(C)满足美国政府工业卫生师会议/国际标准组织制定的可吸入采样标准。这种大流量设计将基于对现有低流量可吸入设备的广泛研究。其次，使用计算流体动力学模型评估取样器的性能，并根据这些测试结果改进样机设计。第三，通过风洞的实验室测试和实际职业环境的现场测试来验证改进后的设计。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): While occupational respiratory diseases inflict a severe toll on our national workforce, existing exposure assessment methods for many respiratory hazards lack sufficient detection sensitivity, preventing the practicing industrial hygienist from determining whether a hazard even exists. The goal of this research is to design a high flow sampling device engineered to assess inhalable aerosol hazards in the workplace in a physiologically relevant fashion. This device will extend overall method detection limits by considerably increasing sampler flowrate. The design will be inexpensive and readily-integrated into the commonly used 37-mm filter cassette. Because of its low cost, accuracy, ease-of-use, and adaptability, this device will have widespread application, especially in developing countries where exposure assessment resources and budgets are limited. Such widespread use was a major design goal for this technology, as increased use of an accurate exposure assessment technology will ultimately result in increased protection of worker health on a national and global scale. There are 3 specific aims for this project. First, to design an inexpensive, modular sampling head that (a) interfaces with a standard 37-mm cassette, (b) operates at a high rate of airflow, 10 Lpm, and (c) meets the criteria for inhalable sampling set by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists/International Standards Organization. This high-flow design will proceed from a wide body of research on existing low-flow inhalable devices. Second, to evaluate sampler performance using computational fluid dynamic modeling and to refine the prototype design based on results from these tests. Third, to validate the refined design through laboratory tests in a wind tunnel and field tests in actual occupational environments.