Laboratory Evaluation of a Field-Portable Sealed Source X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer for Determination of Metals in Air Filter Samples

Details

• Personal Author:
  Chen BT ; Feng, H. Amy ; Lawryk NJ
• Description:
  5 Recent advances in field-portable X-ray fluorescence (FP XRF) spectrometer technology have made it a potentially valuable screening tool for the industrial hygienist to estimate worker exposures to airborne metals. Although recent studies have shown that FP XRF technology may be better suited for qualitative or semiquantitative analysis of airborne lead in the workplace, these studies have not extensively addressed its ability to measure other elements. This study involved a laboratory-based evaluation of a representative model FP XRF spectrometer to measure elements commonly encountered in workplace settings that may be collected on air sample filter media, including chromium, copper, iron, manganese, nickel, lead, and zinc. The evaluation included assessments of (1) response intensity with respect to location on the probe window, (2) limits of detection for five different filter media, (3) limits of detection as a function of analysis time, and (4) bias, precision, and accuracy estimates. Teflon, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, and mixed cellulose ester filter media all had similarly low limits of detection for the set of elements examined. Limits of detection, bias, and precision generally improved with increasing analysis time. Bias, precision, and accuracy estimates generally improved with increasing element concentration. Accuracy estimates met the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health criterion for nearly all the element and concentration combinations. Based on these results, FP XRF spectrometry shows potential to be useful in the assessment of worker inhalation exposures to other metals in addition to lead. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Dust Environmental Monitoring Metals Metal Workers Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Particulate Matter Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Welding Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Air-filters Air-sampling-equipment Airborne-particles Author Keywords: Accuracy Bias Exposure-assessment Exposure-levels Exposure-methods Fumes Inhalation-studies Laboratory-testing Mathematical-models Metal-dusts Metal-fumes Metalworking Metalworking-industry Models Occupational-exposure Occupational-respiratory-disease Precision Pulmonary-system-disorders Qualitative-analysis Statistical-analysis Welders-lung Welding-industry Workplace-studies

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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:
  HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  433-445
• Volume:
  6
• Issue:
  7
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20035476
• Citation:
  J Occup Environ Hyg 2009 Jul; 6(7):433-445
• Contact Point Address:
  Nicholas Lawryk, CDC/NIOSH, HELD, 1095 Willowdale Road, M/S G9002 Morgantown, WV 26505-1725
• Email:
  NLawryk@cdc.gov
• CAS Registry Number:
  Chromium (CAS RN 7440-47-3) ; Copper (CAS RN 7440-50-8) ; Iron (CAS RN 7439-89-6) ; Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1) ; Manganese (CAS RN 7439-96-5) ; Nickel (CAS RN 7440-02-0) ; Zinc (CAS RN 7440-66-6)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2009
• NORA Priority Area:
  Manufacturing ; Construction
• 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:a7b3976475dac6c1a72b7e456c41423df76dc5be2159dbeb6538919f04d2dad969694672a736b4b5672573bf9fd525ad1a0000f3f078548bfc520a42ddbd1138
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/187318/cdc_187318_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.82 MB ]