Potential significance of airborne fiber dimensions measured in the U.S. refractory ceramic fiber manufacturing industry
✍ Scribed by Thomas J. Lentz; Carol H. Rice; James E. Lockey; Paul A. Succop; Grace K. Lemasters
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1999
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 272 KB
- Volume
- 36
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0271-3586
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Background To determine dimensions of airborne ®bers in the U.S. refractory ceramic ®ber (RCF) manufacturing industry, ®bers collected through personal air sampling for employees at RCF manufacturing and processing operations have been measured. Methods Data were derived from transmission electron microscopy analyses of 118 air samples collected over a 20-year period. Results Characteristics of sized ®bers include: diameter measurements of < 0.19 to 1.0 "m, of which 75% are less than 0.6 "m; and length ranging from < 0.6 to > 20 "m, with 68% of ®bers between 2.4 and 20 "m. Conclusions Exposures in RCF manufacturing include airborne ®bers with dimensions (diameter < 0.1±0.4 "m, length < 10 "m) historically associated with biological effects in pleural tissues. Air sampling data and a review of studies relating ®ber size to pleural effects in animals and humans support the belief that information on ®ber dimensions is essential for studies with synthetic vitreous ®bers.