Human exposure to elevated levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and trace organic compounds (e.g. PCB, OCP, PBDE) can be related to negative health effects. This raises demands of exposure measurements to be performed. Passive air samplers (PAS) are simple and cheap sampling options that may be useful tools for exposure screening of large populations. They can also enable frequent ...

BACKGROUND Seeking a noninvasive method to conduct surveillance for respiratory pathogens, we sought to examine the usefulness of 2 types of off-the-shelf aerosol samplers to detect respiratory viruses in Singapore. METHODS In this pilot study, we ran the aerosol samplers several times each week with patients present in the patient waiting areas at 3 primary health clinics during the months o...

With the help of diffusive samplers spatial distribution of air pollutants can be assessed and these samplers are therefore a sound completion to continuous monitors. Diffusive sampler networks can be run easily over longer time periods and are an effective tool in air quality management. In the framework of the Swiss Project " Airo Puro " in 6 Central American countries, the diffusive sampling...

INTRODUCTION In aerobiological studies it is often necessary to compare concentration data recorded with different models of sampling instrument. Sampler efficiency typically varies from device to device, and depends on the target aerosol and local atmospheric conditions. To account for these differences inter-sampler correction factors may be applied, however for many pollen samplers and polle...

Assessment of exposure to occupational dusts is a first step in reducing exposures to harmful dust concentrations. A new type of respirable dust sampler was developed and compared side-by-side to personal gravimetric samplers in the laboratory. The new sampler correlates filter back pressure with mass accumulation to provide mid-shift- and end-of-shift determinations of cumulative exposure. The...

In this review, we examine house dust and residential soil and their use for identifying sources and the quantifying levels of toxicants for the estimation of exposure. We answer critical questions that focus on the selection of samples or sampling strategies for collection and discuss areas of uncertainty and gaps in knowledge. We discuss the evolution of dust sampling with a special emphasis ...

The 2009 H1N1 pandemic emphasized a need to evaluate zoonotic transmission of influenza A in swine production. Airborne influenza A virus has been detected in swine facilities during an outbreak. However, the personal exposure of veterinarians treating infected swine has not been characterized. Two personal bioaerosol samplers, the NIOSH bioaerosol sampler and the personal high-flow inhalable s...

The health risk resulting from benzene exposure in petroleum refineries was calculated using data from the scientific literature from various countries throughout the world. The exposure data was collated into four scenarios from petroleum refinery environments and plotted as cumulative probability distributions (CPD) plots. Health risk was evaluated for each scenario using the Hazard Quotient ...

The objective of this work was to investigate the ability of the Wagner-Leith passive aerosol sampler to measure indoor exposures over periods of 24 hours to 2 weeks. An automated analysis technique was developed so that lower aerosol concentrations could be sampled over shorter time periods. A test of the new analytical method against a manual method showed good agreement. The passive sampler ...