Abstract No:
1663
Abstract Type:
Student Poster
Authors:
S Han1, J Park1
Institutions:
1Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
Presenter:
Subin Han
Purdue University
Faculty Advisor:
Jae Hong Park, Ph.D., C.I.H.
Purdue University
Description:
In the United States, about 457,300 workers are employed in hot metal working occupations such as welding and brazing. These processes generate aerosols that pose significant occupational health risks and often contain metals such as iron (Fe), aluminum (Al), and manganese (Mn). Exposure to these metals can cause respiratory disease, neurological effects, and increased cardiovascular risks. An accurate exposure assessment is essential for this large and growing workforce. Conventional exposure assessment relies on filter-based sampling followed by digestion before metal analysis, which increases preparation time and can introduce variability. This study presents a novel sampler that collects aerosols directly into water and simplifies metal exposure assessment.
Situation/Problem:
In industrial hygiene practice, welding fume particles are typically collected on filters and later extracted into liquid suspensions for metal analysis or toxicological evaluation. This extraction process introduces additional handling steps, potential particle loss, and may alter particle properties such as size distribution, surface chemistry, composition, and reactivity. These factors can affect analytical results and complicate exposure assessment. To address these limitations, a novel air sampler using a wet inertial impactor was developed to collect welding fume particles directly into liquid media.
Methods:
The new sampler utilized a wet inertial impactor with a cutoff diameter of 0.12 µm at 8 L/min and collected total suspended particles (TSP) larger than 0.12 µm. A nebulizer positioned upstream of the impactor nozzle sprayed the deionized water. Particles deposited on the impaction plate were immediately washed by a jet of water droplets and the resulting suspension flowed into a 50 mL collection tube. To evaluate the sampler, welding fumes were generated using a custom flux-cored arc welding system connected to a 225 L exposure chamber. Fumes were produced at three different concentrations (low, medium, and high) and monitored using an optical particle sizer (OPS). The developed sampler and a conventional open-face 37-mm filter cassette with a polyvinyl chloride filter were co-located in the chamber for comparison. After 20 min of sampling, the metal contents from both methods were analyzed using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES).
Results / Conclusions:
Polydisperse welding fume particles were generated, mostly smaller than 2.5 μm with a geometric mean diameter below 1 μm. Estimated mass concentrations, calculated from number size distributions assuming a particle density of 1 g/cm3, were 0.9, 1.5, and 2.8 mg/m3 for low, medium, and high levels, respectively. Actual concentrations can be higher due to the higher densities of the metals. ICP-OES analysis identified Fe, Al, and Mn as the primary components. The metal concentrations measured by the liquid-based sampler were comparable to those from the filter-based method, with strong correlations for all three metals (r ≈ 0.95–0.97). Despite the small number of paired samples (n = 3), results suggest consistent agreement between methods. Direct collection into liquid media reduces sample processing time, minimizes sample loss, and preserves the particle characteristics. Overall, the developed method provides a practical platform for welding fume characterization and exposure assessment.
Core Competencies:
Exposure Assessment
Secondary Core Competencies:
Chemical Sampling and Instrumental Analysis
Choose at least one (1), and up to five, (5) keywords from the following list. These selections will optimize your presentation's search results for attendees.
Aerosol and airborne particulate monitoring
Exposure Assessment
Environmental protection and monitoring
Based on the information that will be presented during your proposed session, please indicate the targeted audience practice level: (select one)
Professional: Professional is a job title given to persons who have obtained a baccalaureate or graduate degree in IH/OH, public health, safety, environmental sciences, biology, chemistry, physics, or engineering or who have a degree in another area that meets the standards set forth in the next section, Knowledge and Skill Sets of IH/OH Practice Levels, and has had 4 or more years of practice. One significant way of demonstrating professional competence is to achieve certification by a 3rd party whose certification scheme is recognized by the International Occupational Hygiene Association (IOHA) such as the Board of Global EHS Credentialing (BGC).
Was this session organized by an AIHA Technical Committee, Special Interest Group, Working Group, Advisory Group or other AIHA project Team?
No
Are worker exposure data and/or results of worker exposure data analysis presented?
No
How will this help advance the science of IH/OH?
The developed sampler provides a practical tool for advancing industrial hygiene (IH) and occupational health (OH) by improving the collection and analysis of welding fume particles. Conventional filter-based sampling requires extraction steps that can cause particle loss and alter key particle properties, which can underestimate airborne metal concentrations and reduce analytical reliability. The sampler collects welding fumes directly into liquid media, which simplifies sample preparation and preserves particle characteristics such as metal composition, surface reactivity, and dissolution behavior. The resulting suspension can be directly used for chemical analyses such as metal quantification, dissolution kinetics, and oxidation-state characterization. It also supports reliable biological and toxicological assessments, such as oxidative potential assays, cellular toxicity tests, and studies on metal bioavailability. By producing representative samples of metallic aerosols, the sampler supports more accurate exposure assessment, informs engineering controls, and guides evidence-based occupational exposure limits. While developed for welding fumes, the method can be applied to other hot metal working processes such as cutting, brazing, and soldering. Overall, it provides a robust, scientifically rigorous platform that enhances the precision and efficiency of IH and OH research and supports better-informed strategies to protect workers from welding-related hazards
Have you presented this information before?
No
I have read and agree to these guidelines.
Yes