Comparison of criteria for defining inspirable aerosol and the development of appropriate samplers

This paper summarizes a body of work that has been carried out to define quantitatively the aerosol fraction that is inspired by people in workplace situations. A critical comparison is made between the versions of inspirability proposed by the International Standards Organization (ISO) and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) respectively; this comparison suggests that, for some workplace aerosols, significant differences in sampled mass can arise depending on which definition is used as the basis for designing practical sampling instruments. Finally, a family of static and personal samplers for sampling aerosol according to the ACGIH inspirability criterion is described.