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Thomas B Johansson

Professor emeritus

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Particle Size Distribution and Human Respiratory Deposition of Trace Metals in Indoor Work Environments

Author

  • Roland Akselsson
  • Georges G. Desaedeleer
  • Thomas B Johansson
  • John W. Winchester

Summary, in English

Respiratory response to inhalation of fine particles has been investigated for the aerosol generated by welding. Particles were sampled using a pair of 5-stage cascade impactors operating at 1 l./min flow rate. The subject exhaled into one impactor through an air ballast arrangement, and the other impactor simultaneously sampled the surrounding air. Particle size fractions were analyzed for principal elemental constituents from sulphur to lead using proton induced X-ray emission, PIXE. The results indicated a complex respiratory response, including both increase in particle size due to exposure to high humidity in the respiratory tract and deposition of particles during inhalation. The response was found to be different for the element group Mn, Cr, Fe, Ni compared to the group K, Ca, Ti by observing the associations among the elements as a function of particle size in the inhaled and exhaled aerosol. However, for respiratory deposition efficiency alone in all runs averaged together, no systematic differences between the different elements are demonstrated at the 99 % confidence level.

Department/s

  • Ergonomics and Aerosol Technology
  • The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics

Publishing year

1976

Language

English

Pages

225-238

Publication/Series

Annals of Occupational Hygiene

Volume

19

Issue

3-4

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Topic

  • Environmental Health and Occupational Health

Keywords

  • lung deposition
  • welding aerosols
  • particle size distribution
  • elemental composition

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1475-3162