Detailed Physicochemical Characterization of the Ambient Fine and Ultrafine Particulate Mixture at a Construction Site

Details

• Personal Author:
  Gernand J ; Ilçi F ; Li M
• Description:
  This paper presents a detailed characterization of the size and shape distributions, and chemical compositions of ambient fine and ultrafine particles collected at the site of a building demolition and construction project at the Pennsylvania State University. Particle samples were collected with a nine-stage cascade impactor, characterized via transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy for elemental compositions, and images analyzed for morphological features. 89.3% of the particles collected by count were ultrafine particles or aggregates of ultrafine particles that disaggregated during the collection process. The mean particulate matter mass and count concentrations were 167.2 µg/m3 and 16,232 particles/cm3, respectively. 72.2% of the particles by count were morphologically circular on two-dimensional images and 74.0% of the particles by count had an aspect ratio of between 1:1 and 2:1. The five most prevalent elements found in the samples were carbon, oxygen, silicon, sulfur, and calcium, with corresponding mass fractions of 40.8%, 26.4%, 7.6%, 5.1%, and 4.7%. Based on the current regulatory occupational exposure limits, the particulate matter at the construction site was within permissible concentrations. These results enable a comparison of a real-world particulate exposure environment to hazard levels determined through single-particle-type exposure studies. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aerosols Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution Construction Industry Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Aerosol Particles Air Pollutants Air Pollution Sampling Author Keywords: Characterization Construction Exposure Mixture Morphology Particle Size Analysis Particulate Matter Ultrafine Ultrafine Particulates

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• ISSN:
  2510-375X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  344-356
• Volume:
  5
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20068073
• Citation:
  Aerosol Sci Eng 2021 Jul; 51(3):344-356
• Contact Point Address:
  Jeremy Gernand, John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
• Email:
  jmgernand@psu.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• Performing Organization:
  Johns Hopkins University
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Aerosol Science and Engineering
• End Date:
  20280630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:870406afb7de7b5279bc9c46926638e2cbf12adaa364c5425f64fd55f403324d5327a9de1d3233861a433072e715aab4b13a28f1789190b919fadcfdb94a6e1b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/230292/cdc_230292_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.73 MB ]