Offshore staff

CLEARWATER, Florida -- Sensidyne has released the IOM sampling head. The IOM inhalable dust sampling head was developed by the Institute of Occupational Medicine in Scotland to sample for inhalable particulate using a personal air sampling pump such as a Gilian 5000 or GilAir-3.

When operated at 2 LPM it collects a dust sample that follows the particle size distribution as described by the ACGIH for inhalable particulate. For particles of 1-micron diameter, nearly all (97%) are captured by the IOM sampling head and collected onto the filter. For particles of 100 microns in diameter, 50% are collected onto the filter. This approximates the size distribution in the respiratory tract.

The ACGIH descriptions applied to particle size selective TLVs are:

Respirable particulate matter: Those materials that are hazardous when deposited in the gas exchange region (50% cut point at 4 microns).

Thoracic particulate matter: Those materials that are hazardous when deposited anywhere within the lung airways and in the gas exchange region (50% cut point at 10 microns).

Inhalable particulate matter: Those materials that are hazardous when deposited anywhere in the respiratory tract (50% cut point at 100 microns).

The new IOM sampling head is available through Sensidyne's distributors worldwide.

08/11/2008