A portable vapor/particle sampler

The airborne particle and vapor phases of a volatile organic chemical (VOC) often coexist in the real workplace environment. Assessment of worker exposure to a VOC requires measuring not only the total airborne concentration but also the phase distribution because the deposition efficiency of the material in the respiratory tract will depend on the form in which it is inhaled. A prototype portable vapor/particle sampler (PVPS) has been designed for sampling and quantifying the phase distribution of volatile components in micrometer-sized airborne particles and coexisting gaseous phase based on differential inertia. The sampler was laboratory tested and validated. Tests included sampler performance assessment and comparison with current sampling methods for particles and organic vapors, i.e., glass fiber filter, charcoal sorbent tube, and diffusion monitors. The PVPS is a low-cost and lightweight device that can be driven by a single standard personal sampling pump. The mass quantities of materials collected by the sampler can be determined by standard analytical procedures. Combined with an appropriate size-selective inlet, the PVPS may be used as a personal inhalable or respirable volatile aerosol sampler for occupational VOC exposure assessment, especially in industrial, or household, spray work environments where the particle sizes are frequently large.