Evaluation of Two Portable Lead-Monitoring Methods at Mining Sites

Details

• Personal Author:
  Ashley, Kevin E. ; Drake, Pamela L. ; Hazelwood KJ ; Lawryk NJ ; Song R ; Sussell, Aaron L. ; Ashley, Kevin E. ; Drake, Pamela L. ; Hazelwood KJ ; Lawryk NJ ; Song R ; Sussell, Aaron L.
• Description:
  Two methods for measuring airborne lead using field-portable instruments have been developed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH): Method 7702 uses X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and Method 7701 employs ultrasonic extraction (UE) followed by anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV). The two portable methods were evaluated at mining sites. Area air samples were collected throughout two mills where ore from nearby mines was processed; the primary constituent of the ore was lead sulfide (galena). The air samples were collected on 37 mm mixed cellulose ester membrane filters housed within plastic filter cassettes. At the end of the work shift, the cassettes were collected and taken to a room off-site for analysis by the two portable methods. The filter samples were first analyzed by XRF and then by UE/ASV. Calibration was verified on both instruments according to standard procedures. The samples were then sent for confirmatory analysis via flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) according to NIOSH Method 7082. Pairwise comparisons between the methods using the paired t-test showed no statistically significant differences between ASV and FAAS (P>0.05); however, the comparison between XRF and FAAS was statistically significant (P<0.05). The elevated lead concentrations reported by XRF relative to FAAS were likely the result of the ability of XRF to report total lead, including lead silicates. This form of lead is not liberated in the digestion process prior to FAAS analysis, and is therefore not detected by this method. Despite this discrepancy, lead concentrations measured by both portable technologies were found to be highly correlated with the laboratory method (R2>0.96), suggesting that they are suitable as screening methods for airborne lead at mining sites. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Aluminum Silicates Environmental Monitoring Lead Mining Occupational Health Particulate Matter Radiography Safety Sulfides
• Keywords:
  Air-samples Airborne-particles Lead-compounds Mining-industry Samplers Sampling Sampling-equipment Silicates Ultrasonic-testing X-ray-fluorescence-analysis
• Series:
  Mining Publications   ; Mining Publications  
• ISSN:
  0304-3894
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article ; Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Georgia ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5 ; Washington ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  SRL - Spokane Research Laboratory ; HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division ; DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology ; DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies ; SRL - Spokane Research Laboratory ; HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division ; DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology ; DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health ; Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America ; North America
• Pages in Document:
  29-38
• Volume:
  102
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20023884
• Citation:
  J Hazard Mater 2003 Aug; 102(1):29-38
• Contact Point Address:
  US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 315 E. Montgomery Avenue, Spokane, WA 99207, USA
• Email:
  pdrake@cdc.gov
• CAS Registry Number:
  Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1) ; Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2003
• NORA Priority Area:
  Research Tools and Approaches: Exposure Assessment Methods ; Research Tools and Approaches: Exposure Assessment Methods
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Hazardous Materials
• End Date:
  20040930
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c4b7bb14af143c9147741c86a3a66e22df356d262f9c3a20dc28a5745fc65312b0fc0d7ad884e1a9b8707dd1256ae60ad73e7ee01a7c117eccca1ee7e929d6ce
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/220737/cdc_220737_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 90.15 KB ]