Browsing by Author "Ellenbecker, Michael J."

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Exposure assessment and engineering control strategies for airborne nanoparticles: an application to emissions from nanocomposite compounding processes
(2012-07-01)
Tsai, Candace S. -J.
;
White, David
;
Rodriguez, Henoc
;
Munoz, Christian E.
;
Huang, Cheng-Yu
"In this study, nanoalumina and nanoclay particles were compounded separately with ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) polymer to produce nanocomposites using a twin-screw extruder to investigate exposure and effective controls. Nanoparticle exposures from compounding processes were elevated under some circumstances and were affected by many factors including inadequate ventilation, surrounding air flow, feeder type, feeding method, and nanoparticle type. Engineering controls such as improved ventilation and enclosure of releasing sources were applied to the process equipment to evaluate the effectiveness of control. The nanoparticle loading device was modified by installing a ventilated enclosure surrounding the loading chamber. Exposures were studied using designed controls for comparison which include three scenarios: (1) no isolation; (2) enclosed sources; and (3) enclosed sources and improved ventilation. Particle number concentrations for diameters from 5 to 20,000 nm measured by the Fast Mobility Particle Sizer and aerodynamic particle sizer were studied. Aerosol particles were sampled on transmission electron microscope grids to characterize particle composition and morphology. Measurements and samples were taken at the near-and far-field areas relative to releasing sources. Airborne particle concentrations were reduced significantly when using the feeder enclosure, and the concentrations were below the baseline when two sources were enclosed, and the ventilation was improved when using either nanoalumina or nanoclay as fillers."
Exposure assessment of nano-sized and respirable particles at different workplaces
(2011-09-01)
Tsai, Chuen-Jinn
;
Huang, Cheng-Yu
;
Chen, Sheng-Chieh
;
Ho, Chi-En
;
Huang, Cheng-Hsiung
In this study, nanoparticle (NP, diameter < 100 nm) and respirable particles measurements were conducted at three different nanopowder workplaces, including the mixing area of a nano-SiO(2)-epoxy molding compound plant (primary diameter: 15 nm), bagging areas of a nano-carbon black (nano-CB) (primary diameter: 32 nm) and a nano-CaCO(3) (primary diameter: 94 nm) manufacturing plant. Chemical analysis of respirable particle mass (RPM) and NPs was performed to quantify the content of manufactured nanoparticles in the collected samples. Nanopowder products obtained from the plants were used in the laboratory dustiness testing using a rotating drum tester to obtain particle mass and number distributions. The obtained laboratory data were then used to elucidate the field data. Both field and laboratory data showed that NP number and mass concentrations of manufactured materials were close to the background level. Number concentration was elevated only for particles with the electrical mobility diameter > 100 nm during bagging or feeding processes, unless there were combustion-related incidental sources existed. Large fraction of nanomaterials was found in the RPM due to agglomeration of nanomaterials or attachment of nanomaterials to the larger particles. From this study, it is concluded that RPM concentration measurements are necessary for the exposure assessment of nanoparticles in workplaces.