Evaluation of a passive method for determining particle penetration through protective clothing materials

ABSTRACTThe risk of workers' exposure to aerosolized particles has increased with the upsurge in the production of engineered nanomaterials. Currently, a whole-body standard test method for measuring particle penetration through protective clothing ensembles is not available. Those available for respirators neglect the most common challenges to ensembles, because they use active vacuum-based filtration, designed to simulate breathing, rather than the positive forces of wind experienced by workers. Thus, a passive method that measures wind-driven particle penetration through ensemble fabric has been developed and evaluated. The apparatus includes a multidomain magnetic passive aerosol sampler housed in a shrouded penetration cell. Performance evaluation was conducted in a recirculation aerosol wind tunnel using paramagnetic Fe3O4 (i.e., iron (II, III) oxide) particles for the challenge aerosol. The particles were collected on a PVC substrate and quantified using a computer-controlled scanning electron micr...