Iom sampler

During the industrial hygiene study, 25 personal and 101 area samples of inhalable dust were collected using the Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) Samplers (SKC Inc., Eighty Four, PA) containing PVC membrane filters with a 2 μm pore size operated at a sampling flow rate of 2.0 L/min for a minimum of 6 hours to achieve a TWA sample. They were then analyzed gravimetrically by BVNA according to the NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods (NMAM) 500.^{[14 ]}

A pump test was conducted to demonstrate the benefit of the open channel design of REAS compared to a typical filter-based sampler. We predicted that a minimal pressure drop would allow REAS to sample for a longer duration compared to a filter-based sampler when operated at the same flow rate and with the same pump. We used an IOM sampler (SKC, Inc., Eighty Four, PA) sampler with a 25 mm polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) filter (FALP02500, hydrophobic 1.0 μm pore PTFE membrane, MilliporeSigma, Burlington, MA) as a comparison device. Both devices operated at 1 L/min flow rates. The 1 L/min flow rate was chosen based on the capture factor results from the physical collection tests. Airflow was provided by an SKC Airchek XR5000 (SKC, Inc.) pump with a fully charged SKC P85004A Li-ion battery (SKC, Inc., 7.4V, 5.2Ah, 385.kWh). The flow rate for each sampler was set using a TSI Mass Flow Meter. The pump battery was fully charged before each test and allowed to run until it died (i.e., the flow rate dropped to 0 L/min as per the mass flowmeter). The test was performed to determine the difference in collected air volume and sampling time between the REAS and a traditional filter-based sampler (IOM).