PubMed Health⌕ Search

PubMed · 15614359

Dynamic field sampling of airborne organophosphate triesters using solid-phase microextraction under equilibrium and non-equilibrium conditions.

Abstract

A simple setup for dynamic air sampling using a solid-phase microextraction (SPME) device designed for use in the field was evaluated for organophosphate triester vapour under both equilibrium and non-equilibrium conditions. The effects of varying the applied airflows in the sampling device were evaluated in order to optimise the system with respect to the Reynolds number and magnitude of the boundary layer that developed near the surface. Further, the storage stability of the analytes was studied for both capped and uncapped 100-microm PDMS fibres. Organophosphate triesters are utilized on large scales as flame-retardants and/or plasticizers, for instance in upholstered furniture. In indoor working environments these compounds have become common components in the surrounding air. Measurements were performed in a recently furnished working environment and the concentration of tris(2-choropropyl) phosphate was found to be 7 microg m(-3).

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Sindra Isetun, Ulrika Nilsson. 2004-11-11. Dynamic field sampling of airborne organophosphate triesters using solid-phase microextraction under equilibrium and non-equilibrium conditions.. https://doi.org/10.1039/b410597d

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related citations

Exposure to mercury in the mine of Almaden.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the process for obtaining mercury and the historical exposure of Almadén miners to mercury. METHODS: Information on every workplace and historical data on production, technological changes in the productive process and biological and environmental values of mercury was collected. A job-exposure matrix was built with these values and the exposure to inorganic mercury was estimated quantitatively as mug/l of urine mercury. A cumulative exposure index was calculated for every worker by adding the estimates for every year in the different workplaces. RESULTS: In the mine, the highest exposures occurred during drilling, with values up to 2.26 mg/m3 in air, 2194 microg/l in urine and 374 microg/l in blood. Furnace operation and cleaning were the tasks with the highest values in metallurgy, peaking up to 3.37 mg/m3. The filling of bottles with mercury by free fall gave values within a range of 1.13-2.43 mg/m3 in air; these values dropped to 0.32-0.83 mg/m3 after introducing a new ventilation system. The toxicity effects of high doses of inorganic mercury on the central nervous and urinary systems have been known for decades. CONCLUSIONS: The exposure of the workers in Almadén mines to mercury has been very high. The extremely high content cinnabar ore of the mine explains the increased concentrations of mercury in air at the work places. This, together with inadequate working conditions, explains the high mercury levels found in blood and urine during the study period.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗

Influence of start-up on PCDD/F emission of incinerators.

This study aims to evaluate the influence of start-up on polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) concentration in the stack flue gas of incinerators and its contributing PCDD/F emission. The PCDD/F emission of the first sample among three consecutive stack flue gas samples of five intermittent incinerators, which sampled at a stable combustion condition after start-up, is 2-3 times higher than the mean of the others. For verifying the PCDD/F characteristics of incinerators during start-up, one continuous MSWI was investigated for two years. The elevated PCDD/F emissions of the MSWI during start-up could reach 96.9 ng I-TEQN m(-3) and still maintained a high PCDD/F emission (40 times higher than the Taiwan emission limit) even 18 h after the injection of activated carbon, indicating the memory effect. Taking the MSWI for example, which consists of four incinerators, the estimated annual PCDD/F emission from normal operational conditions was 0.112 g I-TEQ. However, one start-up procedure can generate approximately 60% of the PCDD/F emissions for one whole year of normal operations. And the PCDD/F emission, which is the result of the start-ups of four incinerators, was at least two times larger than that of a whole year's normal operations, without consideration for the PCDD/F emission contributed by the long lasting memory effect.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗