Applications of indoor emission factors for worker exposure modelling

Details

• Personal Author:
  Conroy LM ; Franke JE ; Keil CB ; Sheff PA ; Wadden RA ; Conroy LM ; Franke JE ; Keil CB ; Sheff PA ; Wadden RA
• Description:
  There is a growing library of indoor emission factors that can be used to estimate worker exposure to airborne chemicals. Emission factors have the advantage of being a generalizable tool. By using mass balance models an emission factor for a process can be used to predict chemical concentrations in a variety of ventilation and production conditions. The applications of emission factors need to be communicated in a meaningful way to more industrial hygienists in order for this approach to be fully validated, developed and integrated into hygiene practice. Two examples of emission factor use are illustrated. An emission factor for chrome plating has been published as 26.8 g chromium emitted per rack of parts plated. At a separate facility this emission factor along with process and ventilation measurements were used to predict chromium concentrations. the predicted values ranged from 1.7 ug/m3 to 18 ug/m3 . Actual measured values ranged from 0.19 to 4.72 ug/m3 . This agreement is reasonable considering potential differences in rack types, part sizes, and plating current. As another example, an admission factor developed for offset printing volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions at one print shop was used to predict concentrations at a separate shop. VOC emissions at offset printing are most closely associated with the solvent cleaning activities at the presses. An emission factor was developed as 48.5 g VOC emitted during each solvent cleaning event. This emission factor along with appropriate process and ventilation measurements were used to estimate VOC concentrations at the second shop. Predicted VOC concentrations for the shop ranged from 35 to 109 mg/m3 . Measured concentrations at the shop ranged from 8.0 to 24 mg/m3 and were highly correlated with predicted values (r2=0.85) In both examples concentrations were overpredicted by about a factor of four. This agreement is reasonable given the number of assumptions that had to be made in both cases. emission factors tied to more detailed process variables such as surface area plated or cleaned will improve the models. These examples illustrate how emission factors can be effectively used to predict indoor chemical concentrations for use in epidemiological studies, developing exposure assessment strategies, and defining pollution control priorities. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Chemistry Environmental Exposure Occupational Health Particulate Matter Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Solvents Ventilation Volatile Organic Compounds Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Airborne Particles Airborne Particulates Chemical Composition Chemical Properties Cleaning Compounds Emission Sources Exposure Levels Industrial Hygienists Models Risk Factors VOCs Volatile Organic Compounds Volatiles Work Environment Workers

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• Publisher:
  American Industrial Hygiene Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary ; Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Illinois ; Missouri ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 7
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health ; Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America ; North America
• Pages in Document:
  18
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20048189
• Citation:
  American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, May 20-26, 1995, Kansas City, Missouri. Fairfax, VA: American Industrial Hygiene Association, 1995 May; :18
• CAS Registry Number:
  Chromium (CAS RN 7440-47-3) ; Chromium (CAS RN 7440-47-3)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1995
• Performing Organization:
  University of Illinois at Chicago, Illinois
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  19901201
• Source Full Name:
  American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, May 20-26, 1995, Kansas City, Missouri
• End Date:
  19941130
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:44eeb8ebf3a8e5d5caccd59d5353915a752ca6ec50fd24f38351a7d2b8024e4e6044d0bdd9bacb838231f43e94e0638cb34f552caf91857c134c49f61b57ebaf
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/203008/cdc_203008_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 428.74 KB ]