Asbestos Fiber Length and Width Comparison Between Manual and Semi-Automated Measurements

Details

• Personal Author:
  Barone T ; Lee T ; Mischler, Steven E. ; Rubinstein, Elaine
• Description:
  The objective of the present study is to find a fast and accurate procedure to measure the length and width of asbestos fibers using images acquired by a scanning electron microscope (SEM), a phase-contrast microscope (PCM), and a polarized light microscope (PLM). The accuracy of the procedure was evaluated by comparing fiber length and width measurements to manual measurements. Four different types of images were used in the evaluation: (1) backscattered electron SEM images of fibrous tremolite, (2) secondary electron SEM images of fibrous grunerite, (3) PCM images of fibrous grunerite, and (4) PLM images of fibrous grunerite. Fiber length and width were measured with ImageJ (manual measurement) and Image-Pro software and were compared on an individual fiber basis and over the number-length and number-width distribution of each sample. The results of the comparison showed that the individual length and width measurements with ImageJ and Image-Pro software had a nearly 1:1 relationship except for the width measurement in PLM images (8% of the variance in ImageJ width measurements was not explained by Image-Pro width measurements). Similarly, the number-length distributions were not significantly different (p > 0.05) between ImageJ and Image-Pro, but the number-width distributions were significantly different (p < 0.05) for PLM and secondary electron SEM images. Although the image analysis procedure for measuring fiber length and width with Image-Pro is not a fully automated procedure and still requires some manual intervention, it can be a more efficient and equally accurate alternative to time-consuming manual fiber length and width measurements for well dispersed fibers with high aspect ratios. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Asbestos Inorganic Chemicals Mining Occupational Health Particulate Matter Safety Software
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Asbestos Computer Software Fibers Image-Pro Image Analysis ImageJ Imaging Techniques Scanning Electron Microscopy
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• ISSN:
  1545-9624
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  PMRD - Pittsburgh Mining Research Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  370-380
• Volume:
  19
• Issue:
  6
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20065554
• Citation:
  J Occup Environ Hyg 2022 Jun; 19(6):370-380
• Contact Point Address:
  Taekhee Lee, Health Hazards Prevention Branch, Pittsburgh Mining Research Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 626 Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15236, USA
• Email:
  fwc8@cdc.gov
• CAS Registry Number:
  Asbestos (CAS RN 1332-21-4)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2022
• NORA Priority Area:
  Mining
• 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:f39c89a9c8a6d4fcbdec070070b556225971fa2fa544615f7106371862424a838a5427b13e8789c93cda4af721a13281721a4ae6a9a8b148dfd79e8f37709b3e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/215531/cdc_215531_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.57 MB ]