Investigation of particle transfer to sampler covers during the transportation of samples

This study investigated the effects of particle transfer to the covers of aerosol samplers during transportation of wood dust and welding fume samples. Wood dust samples were collected in a sanding chamber using four sampler types: closed-face cassettes (CFC), CFC with Accu-CAP inserts, disposable inhalable samplers (DIS), and Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM). Welding fumes were collected in a walk-in chamber using the same samplers, with Solu-Sert replacing Accu-CAP. The samples were divided into two groups, with one group transported by air and the other by land. They were returned in the same manner and analyzed gravimetrically for wood dust and chemically for welding fumes. For wood dust, IOM showed a significantly higher percentage of particles transferred to the covers compared with the other samplers regardless of the transportation mode (p < 0.0001; 64% by air and 15% by land), while other samplers showed less than or close to 10% (3.5-12%). When the percentages of particle transfer to the covers were compared between the air and land transportation, both IOM and CFC samples showed differences between modes of transportation, while others did not. For welding fumes, most samples (61% of samples for copper [Cu] and 76% of samples for manganese [Mn]) showed nondetectable amounts of the analyte on the covers. For all samplers, the particle transfer to the covers for both transportation modes ranged from 0.2-33% for Cu and less than 4.5% for Mn. Overall, this study confirms that particle transfer to sampler covers during transport highly depends upon the transportation mode and sampler type for wood dust, whereas particle transfer seems minimal for welding fumes. The findings of this study are based on two materials and limited sample sizes. Further investigation considering different industry types and tasks, particle size ranges, and materials might be necessary. Nevertheless, occupational professionals should account for this transfer when handling and analyzing samples in practice.