Chemical distribution in high-solids paint overspray aerosols

The chemical composition of high-solids basecoat paint overspray aerosols was determined as a function of particle size. Detailed information on the chemical composition of the overspray aerosols is important in health hazard evaluation since the composition and distribution within the airborne particles may differ significantly from the bulk paint material. This study was conducted in a typical down-draft paint booth equipped with air-atomized spray painting equipment. A fixed paint target was used to simulate typical overspray generation conditions and the aerosols were collected isokinetically with a seven-stage cascade impactor for size-fractionated analysis. The overspray aerosol from six paints consisted of organic paint binders with varying amounts of inorganic species as pigments or luster enhancers. These overspray aerosols had mass median aerodynamic diameters (MMAD) ranging from 2.9 to 9.7 microns. The size-fractionated paint samples collected on the impaction stages were analyzed by energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry on a scanning electron microscope (SEM-EDXRS) to identify the metallic elements. Atomic absorption spectrometry was used to determine the mass distribution of aluminum and iron as indicators of nonuniform distribution. Three of the aerosols containing aluminum were found to have bimodal distributions with most aluminum distributions having cumulative MMADs larger than the total aerosol. Iron in the aerosols was bimodal for three of the paints with all samples having an overall iron MMAD less than or equal to the overspray aerosol MMAD. Analysis using ultraviolet spectrometry revealed that the organic compounds present in the size-fractionated particulate samples consisted of a single, polydispersed mode with an MMAD similar to that of the total overspray aerosol.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)