Characterization of process air emissions in automotive production plants.

During manufacturing, particles produced from industrial processes become airborne. These airborne emissions represent a challenge from an industrial hygiene and environmental standpoint. A study was undertaken to characterize the particles associated with a variety of manufacturing processes found in the auto industry. Air particulates were collected in five automotive plants covering ten manufacturing processes in the areas of casting, machining, heat treatment and assembly. Collection procedures provided information on air concentration, size distribution, and chemical composition of the airborne particulate matter for each process and insight into the physical and chemical processes that created those particles.

Mist generation at a machining center.

Control of occupational exposure to metalworking fluid mist generally involves enclosing the machining center and exhausting to an air cleaner that returns cleaned air to the workplace. To select an appropriate air cleaner, particle size and generation rate of the mists need to be known. Mist particle size and concentration were measured as a function of tool speed, fluid flow rate, and cutting rate at an enclosed machining center. A vertical machining center was totally enclosed and the air from this enclosure was exhausted into a duct where mist concentration and size distribution were measured using a time-of-flight aerosol spectrometer and a cascade impactor. Mist generation during the face milling of a 30 x 31-cm piece of aluminum with a 10-cm diameter face mill was studied. Machining parameters were varied as a 2 x 2 x 3 factorial experiment with these variables: coolant flow rate (18 and 44 m/sec), tool rpm (1900 and 3800 rpm), and metal removal (no removal, two teeth on face mill, and six teeth on face mill). Mist concentration increased with increasing tool speed and fluid application velocity. Whether the tool was actually removing metal did not affect the mist generation. Thus, mist generation is a function of fluid and tool motion. During a second experiment, effect of tool speed and diameter on mist generation was studied. Mist concentrations measured with the aerosol spectrometer were proportional to the 2 and 3.5 powers of the tool speed for the face mill and end mill, respectively. In both experiments the shape of the size distribution was largely unaffected by the experimental variables.

Evaluation of leakage from a metal machining center using tracer gas methods: a case study.

To evaluate the efficacy of engineering controls in reducing worker exposure to metalworking fluids, an evaluation of an enclosure for a machining center during face milling was performed. The enclosure was built around a vertical metal machining center with an attached ventilation system consisting of a 25-cm diameter duct, a fan, and an air-cleaning filter. The evaluation method included using sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) tracer gas to determine the ventilation system's flow rate and capture efficiency, a respirable aerosol monitor (RAM) to identify aerosol leak locations around the enclosure, and smoke tubes and a velometer to evaluate air movement around the outside of the enclosure. Results of the tracer gas evaluation indicated that the control system was approximately 98% efficient at capturing tracer gas released near the spindle of the machining center. This result was not significantly different from 100% efficiency (p = 0.2). The measured SF6 concentration when released directly into the duct had a relative standard deviation of 2.2%; whereas, when releasing SF6 at the spindle, the concentration had a significantly higher relative standard deviation of 7.8% (p = 0.016). This increased variability could be due to a cyclic leakage at a small gap between the upper and lower portion of the enclosure or due to cyclic stagnation. Leakage also was observed with smoke tubes, a velometer, and an aerosol photometer. The tool and fluid motion combined to induce a periodic airflow in and out of the enclosure. These results suggest that tracer gas methods could be used to evaluate enclosure efficiency. However, smoke tubes and aerosol instrumentation such as optical particle counters or aerosol photometers also need to be used to locate leakage from enclosures.

Breath, urine, and blood measurements as biological exposure indices of short-term inhalation exposure to methanol.

Due to their transient nature, short-term exposures can be difficult to detect and quantify using conventional monitoring techniques. Biological monitoring may be capable of registering such exposures and may also be used to estimate important toxicological parameters. This paper investigates relationships between methanol concentrations in the blood, urine, and breath of volunteers exposed to methanol vapor at 800 ppm for periods of 0.5, 1, 2, and 8 h. The results indicate factors that must be considered for interpretation of the results of biological monitoring. For methanol, concentrations are not proportional to the exposure duration due to metabolic and other elimination processes that occur concurrently with the exposure. First-order clearance models can be used with blood, breath, or urine concentrations to estimate exposures if the time that has elapsed since the exposure and the model parameters are known. The 0.5 to 2-h periods of exposure were used to estimate the half-life of methanol. Blood data gave a half-life of 1.44+/-0.33 h. Comparable but slightly more variable results were obtained using urine data corrected for voiding time (1.55+/-0.67h) and breath data corrected for mucous membrane desorption (1.40+/-0.38 h). Methanol concentrations in blood lagged some 15-30 min behind the termination of exposure, and concentrations in urine were further delayed. Although breath sampling may be convenient, breath concentrations reflect end-expired or alveolar air only if subjects are in a methanol-free environment for 30 min or more after the exposure. At earlier times, breath concentrations included contributions from airway desorption or diffusion processes. As based on multicompartmental models, the desorption processes have half-lives ranging between 0.6 and 5 min. Preliminary estimates of the mucous membrane reservoir indicate contributions of under 10% for a 0.5-h exposure and smaller effects for longer periods of exposure.

Mechanism of induction of asthmatic attacks initiated by the inhalation of particles generated by airbag system deployment.

OBJECTIVE: We have previously demonstrated that inhalation of the dust produced by dual frontal airbag deployment can result in significant bronchospasm in approximately 40% of mild to moderate asthmatics. This study was performed to determine the cause of the asthmatic response. DESIGN: Controlled laboratory study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Asthmatics who were previously tested for their response to airbag effluents were exposed for twenty minutes to either 1) airbag effluents from airbag systems in which the airbag was insulated from the hot deployment module; 2) non-sulfur containing airbag effluents; 3) sodium chloride aerosol; or 4) sodium carbonate-bicarbonate aerosol (pH 10). Pre-exposure, post-exposure, and 2 hour post exposure pulmonary spirometry and mechanics were measured. Subject's filled out symptoms questionnaires before exposure, 2, 4, 8, 12, and 19 minutes into the exposure, immediately post-exposure, and 2 hours post-exposure. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Prevention of the pyrolysis of the passenger-side bag as it rested on the hot module after deployment did not diminish the asthmatic response. Removal of sulfur-containing oxidants from the airbag pyrotechnic chemistry, which may have led to sulfite production, similarly did not alleviate the asthmatic response to the airbag effluents. Lastly, when asthmatics were exposed to sodium chloride and sodium carbonate-bicarbonate aerosols at approximately the same concentration (approximately 220 mg/m3) as the airbag aerosol concentration that occurred in the in-car tests, they had responses similar to those produced by the airbag exposures. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the amount of soluble particulate contained in the aerosol discharged into the passenger compartment by dual frontal airbag deployment is largely the cause of the observed evoked asthmatic attacks. The alkaline pH of the airbag and carbonate aerosols may have added an additional degree of provocation.

Physical and chemical characterization of airbag effluents.

OBJECTIVE: This paper describes a study aimed at characterizing the exposure to physical and chemical by-products from the deployment of airbag restraint systems. DESIGN, MATERIALS AND METHODS: Specifically, the levels of particulates and the composition of gases and bag fabric speed were measured in the passenger compartment following deployment of either a driver's side or driver's side/passenger's side airbag system. MEASUREMENTS: A Fourier transform infrared analyzer (FTIR) and chemiluminescence analyzers were used for gas analysis, a cascade impactor and gravimetric filter measurements for aerosol determination and high-speed films to determine fabric speed. MAIN RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The measured gases were found to be within the recommended guidelines for human exposures, but no guidelines exist for particle exposures of this magnitude (150-220 mg/m3) but short duration. High-speed films were also taken of the deployments to obtain an estimate of the fabric speed as it leaves the module. The maximum average speed for both types of airbag was approximately 100 mph and in both cases average speeds ranged from lows near 50 mph to highs of over 200 mph.

The use of a transportable Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer for the direct measurement of solvents in breath and ambient air--I: Methanol.

A transportable Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer has been tested for analysis of methanol vapor in alveolar and ambient air. The instrument has been found to be accurate and precise for both uses. The regions used for methanol and CO2 quantification are in the vicinity of 950-1100 cm-1 and 2000-2100 cm-1, respectively. The results of a standard addition experiment show a correlation coefficient of 0.97-0.99 for methanol in alveolar or ambient air at the 30-200 ppm concentration level. For CO2 analysis in 23 alveolar air samples at the 6.1-7.6% concentration level, the mean difference in results between a nondispersive infrared (NDIR) spectrometer and the FTIR was -0.092% with a standard deviation of 0.273% (p greater than 0.1). Methanol concentrations in alveolar air paralleled simultaneous measurements of methanol concentration in blood. Overall, these preliminary results suggest that FTIR spectroscopy is a practical and efficient approach for simultaneous biological and area monitoring of human exposure to organic solvents.

Lack of blood formate accumulation in humans following exposure to methanol vapor at the current permissible exposure limit of 200 ppm.

Accumulation of formate, the putative toxic metabolite of methanol, in the blood and the relationship between pulmonary intake and blood methanol concentration were investigated in six human volunteers following a 6-hr exposure to 200 ppm methanol (the current Occupational Safety and Health Administration 8-hr time-weighted average permissible exposure limit). At the end of a 6-hr exposure to 200 ppm methanol at rest, the blood methanol concentration was increased from a mean of 1.8 micrograms/mL to 7.0 micrograms/mL. Under light exercise, the total amount of methanol inhaled during the 6-hr exposure period was 1.8 times that inhaled at rest. However, no statistically significant increase in blood methanol concentration was observed under exercise: the concentrations averaged 8.1 micrograms/mL. Formate did not accumulate in the blood above its background level following the 6-hr exposures to 200 ppm methanol whether subjects were exposed at rest or during exercise. Unlike the data collected from epidemiologic studies, the authors' results were obtained under well-controlled methanol exposure conditions and by using appropriate dietary restrictions. The data show that (1) the biological load of methanol would be the same regardless of whether workers are engaged in light physical activity when they are exposed to methanol vapors below 200 ppm and (2) the formate that is associated with acute methanol toxicities in humans does not accumulate in blood when methanol exposure concentrations are below 200 ppm.

A transportable, remote sensing, infrared air-monitoring system.

A transportable, remote sensing instrument has been built that is capable of performing real-time quantitative analysis of gas and vapor contaminants of workplace air. The emphasis in this system is on simplicity and sensitivity for use over pathlengths of up to 40 m. A method was developed to overcome the effect of nonanalyte species present in the background spectrum on the quantitation of analytes in the sample spectrum. In addition, results demonstrated that instrument response was proportional to the beam pathlength under homogeneous concentration conditions. The application of software capable of qualitative analysis was also demonstrated.

Comparison of the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometer and the Miniature Infrared Analyzer (MIRAN) for the determination of trichloroethylene (TCE) in the presence of Freon-113 in workplace air.

Results obtained using the Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FTIR) and the Miniature Infrared Analyzer (MIRAN) for samples of workplace air containing trichloroethylene (TCE) were evaluated through comparison with results obtained when using a gas chromatography (GC). The effects of instrument resolution, relative humidity, and sample storage stability were studied. Relative humidity was found to have no effect on the performance of the FTIR over the range studied. The effect of changing resolution is complex but is explained. The linear range of the FTIR is more than adequate for the concentrations encountered in the samples reported in this study. Interference from Freon caused the TCE values to be high when the MIRAN was operated in the single-wavelength mode.

Effect of exposures to ambient ozone on ventilatory lung function in children.

This study was undertaken to determine if the ventilatory capacity of children is affected by hourly concentrations of ozone inhaled during their daily activity. Over a 3-wk period (June-July 1987) children who were attending a summer camp in the San Bernardino mountains of California performed spirometry up to three times per day during their stay at the camp. A total of 43 children were tested a total of 461 times. Ozone, oxides of nitrogen, sulfur dioxide, temperature, and relative humidity were measured continuously. Daily average measurements of total suspended particulate and the PM10 particulate fraction (less than or equal to 10 microns) were also made. Hourly ozone concentrations at the time of testing varied between 20 and 245 ppb. Regressions of each individual's FEV1 and FVC supported the view that high ozone levels reduced these lung function parameters. The average regression coefficient for FEV1 on ozone was -0.39 ml/ppb (SEM = 0.12) and for FVC -0.44 ml/ppb (SEM = 0.15), both of which were significantly different from zero. Statistical allowance for temperature and humidity increased the magnitude of these slopes. Nitrogen dioxide never exceeded 40 ppb during the time of testing and averaged 13 ppb. Sulfur dioxide's highest measurement was 8 ppb and often was at the limit of detection. Neither NO2 nor SO2 was considered in the statistical modeling. Data were divided based on whether each subject had been exposed to levels of ozone in excess of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) during the several hours previous to being tested. Exposures exceeding the NAAQS indicated a significant negative relationship between ozone and FEV1, FVC, and PEFR. Data for nonexceedance periods did not indicate this negative relationship for any of the three lung function parameters, but it could not be determined if this was due to an absence of an ozone effect or to a combination of the increased variability and decreased size of this data subset. These data indicate that lung function changes on a daily basis relate in a negative fashion to ambient ozone levels. The magnitude of the changes are small and are reversed as ambient ozone decreases.

Chemical distribution in high-solids paint overspray aerosols.

The chemical composition of high-solids basecoat paint overspray aerosols was determined as a function of particle size. Detailed information on the chemical composition of the overspray aerosols is important in health hazard evaluation since the composition and distribution within the airborne particles may differ significantly from the bulk paint material. This study was conducted in a typical down-draft paint booth equipped with air-atomized spray painting equipment. A fixed paint target was used to simulate typical overspray generation conditions and the aerosols were collected isokinetically with a seven-stage cascade impactor for size-fractionated analysis. The overspray aerosol from six paints consisted of organic paint binders with varying amounts of inorganic species as pigments or luster enhancers. These overspray aerosols had mass median aerodynamic diameters (MMAD) ranging from 2.9 to 9.7 microns. The size-fractionated paint samples collected on the impaction stages were analyzed by energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry on a scanning electron microscope (SEM-EDXRS) to identify the metallic elements. Atomic absorption spectrometry was used to determine the mass distribution of aluminum and iron as indicators of nonuniform distribution. Three of the aerosols containing aluminum were found to have bimodal distributions with most aluminum distributions having cumulative MMADs larger than the total aerosol. Iron in the aerosols was bimodal for three of the paints with all samples having an overall iron MMAD less than or equal to the overspray aerosol MMAD. Analysis using ultraviolet spectrometry revealed that the organic compounds present in the size-fractionated particulate samples consisted of a single, polydispersed mode with an MMAD similar to that of the total overspray aerosol.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Inhaled particle retention in rats receiving low exposures of diesel exhaust.

To study the effects of a low concentration exposure on the retention and clearance of submicron particles from the lungs, we exposed male Fisher 344 rats to diesel exhaust diluted to 50 micrograms diesel exhaust particles (DP)/m3, 20 h/d, 7 d/wk for 52 wk. Lung burdens (amount of DP in lungs) and the alveolar macrophage burdens were measured up to 52 wk postexposure. By 1 yr postexposure at least 80% of the DP was eliminated from the lungs and similarly cleared from the lavaged pool of macrophages. The DP remaining in the lungs was observed in alveolar, parabronchial and paravascular maculae. In contrast to previous high concentration exposure studies, only trace amounts of particles were observed in the mediastinal lymph nodes. To study the concentration dependence of particle retention, rats were exposed to equivalent exposures of 18 d x mg DP/m3 delivered at 5700 micrograms/m3 for 3 d, 1600 micrograms/m3 for 12 d, 250 micrograms/m3 for 72 d, or 50 micrograms/m3 for 365 d. Higher lung and macrophage burdens were initially achieved with the brief, high concentration exposures. During the postexposure period, animals exposed to the higher concentrations cleared more of the lung burden. Exposure to lower concentrations resulted in higher long-term lung burdens. These results are consistent with a model of lung clearance in which the macrophage burden and the duration of exposure are both important to the formation of the maculae. In a brief high concentration exposure, the macrophage burden rises rapidly, but then declines rapidly. However, in longer low concentration exposures, the macrophage burden will not reach the same peak, but stays at intermediate levels during the exposure and stimulates a steady development of the lung maculae from particle-laden macrophages leaving the active pool of pulmonary phagocytes.

Iterative least-squares fit procedures for the identification of organic vapor mixtures by Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry.

Least-squares fitting (LSF) was applied to the qualitative analysis of IR spectra based on comparing standard reference spectra with the sample mixture spectrum. Identification of compounds in the sample was made by judging the fit level of the spectrum of each compound with the sample spectrum. An iterative procedure was developed to eliminate compounds with the worst fit levels in order to approach an optimal fit for the sample spectrum. The qualitative analysis results obtained from the optimal fit were further used for quantitative analysis.

DNA synthesis in pulmonary alveolar macrophages and type II cells: effects of ozone exposure and treatment with alpha-difluoromethylornithine.

An increase in the number of pulmonary alveolar macrophages (AM) can be induced by a number of toxic insults to the lung, including ozone, an important photochemical oxidant air pollutant. This increase could arise from an influx of monocytes from the vascular or interstitial compartments, or from proliferation of AM in situ. While proliferation of alveolar type II cells after oxidant exposure has been well documented, it is not clear whether AM are also capable of this response. Rats were exposed to air or to 0.12, 0.25, or 0.50 ppm ozone for 1, 2, 3, 7, or 14 d, 20 h/d. The labeling index in both AM and type II cells increased about 10-fold after 2 d of exposure to 0.25 and 0.50 ppm of ozone, but returned to control levels by the end of 1 wk of exposure. These changes closely paralleled the temporal and dose-response characteristics of changes in total lung DNA synthesis. alpha-Difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) administered to rats during a 2-d exposure to 0.50 ppm ozone did not inhibit the ozone-induced increase in labeling index in AM or type II cells, although evidence of inhibition of lung ornithine decarboxylase activity was obtained, and the ozone-induced increase in total lung DNA synthesis was inhibited by 23%. These results suggest that, like type II cells, AM are capable of entering the cell cycle and synthesizing new DNA in situ in response to short-term exposure to environmentally relevant doses of ozone, and that the ozone-induced stimulation of DNA synthesis in these cell types was refractory to inhibition by DFMO.

Experimental conditions in GMR chronic inhalation studies of diesel exhaust.

A chronic inhalation exposure study was initiated to study the potential health effects of diesel exhaust on laboratory animals. Test atmospheres of clean air (control) or freshly diluted diesel exhaust at nominal particulate concentrations of 250, 750 and 1500 micrograms m-3 were supplied to four large volume inhalation chambers in which individually housed Fischer 344 albino rats (Rattus norvegicus) and Hartley guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) were exposed for 20 h per day, 51/2 days per week. The diesel aerosol concentration, chamber temperature and relative humidity were continually monitored and controlled to maintain the exposure dose levels and an environment of 22 +/- 2 degrees C and 50 +/- 20% relative humidity. Animals were randomly sampled from the chambers for physiological, biochemical and pathological studies throughout the exposure period. The study was continued without interruption for 24 months with the mean diesel particle mass concentrations within 6% of the target values. The standard deviation of the mass concentration measurements was approximately 30% of the mean.