Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Electron microscopy study of refractory ceramic fibers.

P A MacKinnon1, T J Lentz, C H Rice

  • 1Environmental Health Professionals Ltd, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
|October 16, 2001
PubMed
Summary

Characterizing airborne refractory ceramic fibers (RCF) requires both scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). These methods complement each other, as SEM misses small diameters and TEM misses long lengths.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Aggregate Exposure and Cumulative Risk Assessment--Integrating Occupational and Non-occupational Risk Factors.

Journal of occupational and environmental hygiene·2015
Same author

State-of-the-Science: The Evolution of Occupational Exposure Limit Derivation and Application.

Journal of occupational and environmental hygiene·2015
Same author

Duration of day care attendance during infancy predicts asthma at the age of seven: the Cincinnati Childhood Allergy and Air Pollution Study.

Clinical and experimental allergy : journal of the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology·2014
Same author

N-acetyltransferase 1 polymorphism increases cotinine levels in Caucasian children exposed to secondhand smoke: the CCAAPS birth cohort.

The pharmacogenomics journal·2014
Same author

Increased suicide risk among workers following toxic metal exposure at the Paducah gaseous diffusion plant from 1952 to 2003: a cohort study.

The international journal of occupational and environmental medicine·2012
Same author

Safety tips for roadway work zones.

Occupational health & safety (Waco, Tex.)·2010

Area of Science:

  • Occupational health
  • Materials science
  • Analytical chemistry

Background:

  • Epidemiological studies require accurate characterization of airborne synthetic vitreous fibers to assess toxicity.
  • Refractory ceramic fibers (RCF) are used in manufacturing, posing potential exposure risks to workers.
  • Understanding fiber dimensions is crucial for evaluating health risks associated with RCF exposure.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for characterizing airborne refractory ceramic fiber (RCF) dimensions.
  • To identify limitations of SEM and TEM in accurately sizing RCF, particularly for small diameter and long length fibers.
  • To inform best practices for RCF exposure assessment in industrial settings.

Main Methods:

Related Experiment Videos

  • Air sampling was conducted in an industry-wide study of RCF manufacturing workers.
  • Fiber dimensions (length and diameter) were analyzed using both SEM and TEM on collected air samples.
  • Bivariate fiber size distributions were compared between SEM and TEM analyses.

Main Results:

  • Refractory ceramic fibers (RCF) exhibit size distributions including diameters less than 0.25 micrometers, which are unresolved by SEM.
  • TEM may fail to detect longer fibers (greater than 60 micrometers), with 1% of fibers in this category by TEM versus 5% by SEM.
  • Variations in fiber sizing results are attributed to microscopic technique limitations and differing sizing rules.

Conclusions:

  • Neither SEM nor TEM alone provides a complete characterization of airborne RCF size distributions.
  • Accurate assessment of RCF exposure necessitates the combined use of both TEM and SEM.
  • Future studies should integrate TEM and SEM analyses to comprehensively characterize RCF dimensions and associated health risks.