A Portable Spectrometer for Inhalable Aerosol Size Distributions

说明(申请人提供)：可吸入气雾剂危害是该国职业性呼吸系统疾病负担的一个重要因素。它们几乎存在于Nora的每一个部门：农业、林业和渔业中的有机粉尘；建筑业中的碳质和矿物粉尘；制造业中的金属和金属加工液气雾剂；以及采矿中的煤尘。然而，我们目前缺乏技术来确定工作场所可吸入气溶胶危害的大小分布。如果没有这些信息，我们将风险与暴露在可吸入气雾剂中联系起来的能力受到严重阻碍。因此，这项研究的目的是开发新的、廉价的技术来表征工作场所可吸入气溶胶危害的尺寸分布。这种采样器将使职业健康专业人员能够更全面地评估可吸入气雾剂危害，因为目前还没有商业上可用的技术来满足这一需求。该项目有三个具体目标：(1)设计一种廉价的上流澄清器，以表征工作场所(从10米到100米)可吸入气溶胶危害的尺寸分布；(2)结合静气室研究和低速风洞实验，评估设备性能；(3)通过表征乳制品和谷物处理设施中有机粉尘危害的可吸入颗粒尺寸分布，在现场测试取样器的性能。我们将量化可吸入有机粉尘的粒度分布，作为质量和内毒素含量的函数。对于大于10 5m的颗粒，后一种测量方法以前从未被报道为颗粒大小的函数。这项研究通过开发一种能够为该领域产生新的重要知识的暴露评估技术，为NARA的目标做出了贡献。虽然有可吸入气溶胶采样器来测量颗粒物的总浓度，但我们目前还没有方法来确定可吸入颗粒物的尺寸分布。由于大小(与化学成分一起)在确定对健康的影响方面起着主要作用，工业卫生学家、职业医生和流行病学家对大小分辨化学成分的知识非常感兴趣。 公共卫生相关性：职业性暴露于可吸入气雾剂是多种职业性呼吸系统疾病的重要危险因素。然而，我们描述这些危险的能力是有限的。因此，这项研究将开发改进的技术，用来评估和帮助减轻工作场所的可吸入气雾剂危害。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Inhalable aerosols hazards are a significant contributor to the burden of occupational respiratory disease in this country. They are present in virtually every NORA sector: organic dusts in agriculture, forestry, and fishing; carbonaceous and mineral dusts in construction; metal and metalworking fluid aerosols in manufacturing; and coal dust in mining are but a few examples. However, we currently lack the technology to determine the size distribution of inhalable aerosol hazards in the workplace. Without this information, our ability to associate risk with exposure to inhalable aerosols is severely hampered. Therefore, the objective of this research is to develop new, inexpensive technology to characterize the size distribution of inhalable aerosol hazards in the workplace. Such a sampler will enable occupational health professionals to assess inhalable aerosol hazards more fully, as no commercially-available technologies currently exist to meet this need. The project has three specific aims: (1) Design an inexpensive, upflow clarifier to characterize the size distribution of inhalable aerosol hazards in the workplace (ranging from 10 to 100 5m); (2) Evaluate device performance using a combination of calm-air chamber studies and low-velocity wind tunnel experiments; (3) Test sampler performance in the field by characterizing inhalable particle size distributions for organic dust hazards in dairy and grain handling facilities. We will quantify inhalable organic dust size distributions as a function of mass and endotoxin content. The latter measure has never before been reported as a function of particle size for particles larger than 10 5m. This research contributes to the aims of the NORA by developing an exposure assessment technique capable of generating new and important knowledge for the field. Although inhalable aerosol samplers exist for measuring the total concentration of particles, we currently have no means for determining inhalable particle size distributions. Because size (in conjunction with chemical composition) plays a primary role in determining health effects, knowledge of the size-resolved chemical composition is of great interest to industrial hygienists, occupational physicians, and epidemiologists alike. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Occupational exposure to inhalable aerosols is a significant risk factor for many types of occupational respiratory disease. However, our ability to characterize these hazards is limited. This research, therefore, will develop improved technology with which to evaluate and help mitigate inhalable aerosol hazards in the workplace.