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An evaluation of the Gilian TRACEAIR Organic Vapor Monitoring Diffusive Badge in measuring short-term exposure levels of benzene under field conditions
Abstract
The objective of this research is to evaluate the performance of the Gilian TRACEAIR Organic Vapor Monitoring I (OVMI) Diffusive Badge in measuring short-term benzene exposures under field conditions. In general, a diffusive badge is a device which is capable of taking samples of gas or vapor pollutants from the atmosphere at a rate controlled by a physical process such as diffusion through a static layer. Diffusive badges continue to flood the industrial hygiene market as an alternative means to charcoal tubes for sampling organic vapors. The OVMI badge has been on the market since 1990, and is the only diffusive sampler that offers dual sampling rates for measuring organic vapors. This dual sampling rate feature allows one the flexibility of sampling at 3 5 to I 00 mL/@n depending on the vapors being sampled. The OVM I badge has been designed to monitor short-term exposure limits (STEL) and long-term limits with only negligible modifications to the badge housing. Side-by-side benzene STEL concentrations were measured in a Texas Gulf Coast refinery implementing two OVM I badges, an SKC charcoal tube, and a Tedlar bag used for gas chromatograph analyses. The results of the study indicated that a) no significant concentration differences were found between the badges; b) the badges overestimated the charcoal tube on average by 54%, although their performance comparisons were highly predictable based on linear regression; and c) the results of the Tedlar baga̓s chromatograph comparisons were inconclusive. Factors which might have contributed to the discrepancy between the charcoal tube and badges are possible concentration gradients and starvation effects occurring at the samplers' inlet face, interference from other competing vapors, and an overestimated badge sampling rate when sampling at the maximum uptake rate. Collectively, the outcomes of this research suggests that a correction factor in the badge's sampling rate might prove useful as a means of correcting for short-term overestimations when sampling for benzene under field conditions. It is hoped that the contents of this research serve as an useful aid for those specifically interested in the OVMI badge and for those whose line of work involve passive sampling.
Description
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Citation
Pierce, Mark Edward (1996). An evaluation of the Gilian TRACEAIR Organic Vapor Monitoring Diffusive Badge in measuring short-term exposure levels of benzene under field conditions. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /ETD -TAMU -1996 -THESIS -P54.
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