Real-Time Evaluation of Ventilation Filter-Bank Systems

Details

• Personal Author:
  Berardinelli, Stephen P. Jr. ; Commodore MA ; Fotta SA ; Hayes JL ; Moyer, Ernest S.
• Description:
  This study evaluated two government facility ventilation systems. One was a metropolitan government office complex with a recirculation system where outside air was the makeup air; the other was a NIOSH facility that used 100% outside air with no recirculation. The methodology employed was a modified American Society of Agricultural Engineers standard (S525) for testing total enclosure filtration efficiency, in agricultural tractor cabs, with optical particle counters (OPC). The low-efficiency bag filters were tested when new and after being in the ventilation system for 3 months. The replacement medium-efficiency filters were evaluated for 6 months (the manufacturer's suggested change-out schedule). These eight-chamber, medium-efficiency filters had an increased filter surface area that resulted in increased airflow through the system. Unfortunately, these filters contained electrostatic filter media and lost filtration efficiency rapidly, which was subsequently confirmed in a 30-day study conducted to determine an appropriate change-out schedule for the eight-chamber bag filters. The study determined that less than 6 months' use was justified due to the reduced efficiency of the electrostatic filter media. The NIOSH facility's air handler #8 (100% outside air unit) was upgraded from electrostatic bag filters, which had a suggested 9-month change-out schedule, to V Bank mechanical, wet-laid, glass fiber filters. The results of a 3-year evaluation showed that the V Bank filters had better filter efficiency after 3 years of service than the electrostatic filters had at 9 months. Both studies employed matched OPC instruments to reduce instrument-to-instrument bias. The methodology is adaptable to monitoring the total efficiency of most air filtration systems, and results can help make decisions about upgrading filter performance. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution Air Pollution, Indoor Environmental Monitoring Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Air-purification Air-purifiers Air-quality Air-quality-control Air-quality-measurement Air-quality-monitoring Air-sampling Air-sampling-equipment Air-sampling-techniques Author Keywords: Aerosol Particles Control Technology Filter-materials Filters Filtration Indoor Environment Optical Particle Counter Ventilation Systems

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• ISSN:
  1545-9624
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies ; DSR - Division of Safety Research
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  58-69
• Volume:
  4
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20031452
• Citation:
  J Occup Environ Hyg 2007 Jan; 4(1):58-69
• Contact Point Address:
  ES Moyer, NIOSH, Div Resp Dis Studies, Lab Res Branch, US Dept Hlth & Human Serv, Ctr Dis Control & Preve, Mail Stop H2703, Morgantown, WV 26505
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2007
• NORA Priority Area:
  Healthcare and Social Assistance
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e94e6941bc85c01a0a7108f7eeacbadea36a6c5a5a558d3de364366a14cc2f773e711289c41224fe5917bde36127620270544d524f532c58b5ad98b132f27f15
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/185747/cdc_185747_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.02 MB ]