Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.2478/10004-1254-64-2013-231
Side-by-Side Determination of Workers' Exposure to Wood Dust with IOM and Open-Faced Samplers
Anka Ozana Čavlović
; Faculty of Forestry, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Ružica Beljo Lučić
; Faculty of Forestry, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Matija Jug
; Faculty of Forestry, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Kristijan Radmanović
; Faculty of Forestry, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Ivan Bešlić
; Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health2, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Woodworkers’ exposure to airborne particles is measured with different sampling techniques throughout the world. Due to a great number of exposure data obtained with different samplers, European countries have aimed over the last ten years to find a conversion factor for mass concentrations that would render these measurements comparable. Following the accepted EU standards and regulations, we replaced a 25 mm open-faced (OF) filter holder with an IOM head to determine woodworkers’ exposure to inhalable dust and establish an IOM/OF sampler ratio that might serve as a reliable factor for converting the existing OF data to IOM dust mass concentration in the industrial environment. For this side-by-side sampling we used personal 25 mm OF (N=29) and IOM (N=29) sampling heads over eight working hours. The obtained IOM/OF ratios ranged between 0.7 and 2.3. However, mass concentrations obtained by IOM and OF samplers did not significantly differ. Our findings suggest that there is no need for conversion of the existing OF data for workers exposed to wood dust, provided that dust mass concentrations in the working environment range between 1 mg m-3 and 7 mg m-3. Future side-by-side measurements should also involve environments with low wood dust mass concentrations.
Keywords
carcinogenic substances; hardwood dust; IOM/OF conversion factor; inhalable fraction; European Directive 2004/37/EC
Hrčak ID:
107569
URI
Publication date:
20.9.2013.
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