CEN/TR 15230:2005

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-december-2005
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Workplace atmospheres - Guidance for sampling of inhalable, thoracic and respirable
aerosol fractions
Arbeitsplatzatmosphäre - Leitfaden zur Probenahme der einatembaren, thorakalen und
alveolengängigen Aerosolfraktion
Atmospheres de lieux de travail - Guide pour l'échantillonnage des fractions d'aérosols
inhalables, thoraciques et alvéolaires
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: CEN/TR 15230:2005
ICS:
13.040.30 Kakovost zraka na delovnem Workplace atmospheres
mestu
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

TECHNICAL REPORT
CEN/TR 15230
RAPPORT TECHNIQUE
TECHNISCHER BERICHT
August 2005
ICS 13.040.30
English Version
Workplace atmospheres - Guidance for sampling of inhalable,
thoracic and respirable aerosol fractions
Atmosphères de lieux de travail - Guide pour Arbeitsplatzatmosphäre - Leitfaden zur Probenahme der
l'échantillonnage des fractions d'aérosols inhalables, einatembaren, thorakalen und alveolengängigen
thoraciques et alvéolaires Aerosolfraktion
This Technical Report was approved by CEN on 10 July 2005. It has been drawn up by the Technical Committee CEN/TC 137.
CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION
EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG
Management Centre: rue de Stassart, 36  B-1050 Brussels
© 2005 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. CEN/TR 15230:2005: E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

Contents Page
Foreword .3
0 Introduction.4
1 Scope .6
2 Normative references .6
3 Terms and definitions.6
4 Sampling strategy.6
5 Method performance.8
6 Sampling instruments .9
7 Ancillary equipment required for field use.11
8 Sampling procedure .12
9 Analysis of samples.14
Annex A (informative) Basic information to be recorded when sampling and afterwards .17
Annex B (informative) Examples of samplers for the inhalable, thoracic and respirable aerosol
fraction, which are or have been available on the market up to 2004, and published
reports on their performance.19
Bibliography.26

Foreword
This Technical Report (CEN/TR 15230:2005) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 137
“Assessment of workplace exposure to chemical and biological agents”, the secretariat of which is held by DIN.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

0 Introduction
0.1 Background
A number of materials hazardous to health occur in the workplace in the form of aerosols, i.e. suspensions of
solid or liquid particles in air. Dust is generally understood to be an aerosol of solid particles, mechanically
produced, with individual particle diameters of 0,1 µm upwards. Dust particles can be compact in shape, or
can have extreme shapes, as for example in the case of airborne fibres. Fume is an aerosol of solid particles
generated by condensation from the vapour state usually following the evaporation of molten metals. Smoke
is an aerosol of solid and or liquid particles generated by condensation or nucleation of vapours after burning
of carbonaceous material. In both fumes and smokes the primary particle diameters are typically less than
0,1 µm which form larger aggregated particles. Mists are aerosols formed from liquid droplets. In this
document the term ‘‘aerosol’ is used to describe any suspension of particles in air, whether the airborne
particles constitute a solid dust, airborne fibres or droplets, a fume, a smoke or a mist.
Aerosol sampling at workplaces can be performed for many reasons using different sampling strategies:
These include comparison of the measured concentration with the occupational exposure Limit Value (LV),
exposure assessment for epidemiological studies and evaluation of control measures. Occupational Exposure
Limits have been defined for many types of aerosol. In order to demonstrate that personal exposure is
adequately controlled it is usually necessary to determine the concentration of the aerosol by means of
personal sampling. In some cases a direct determination of the aerosol concentration is all that is needed. In
other cases a subsequent analytical technique is applied for the determination of a particular harmful element
or compound present in the aerosol.
0.2 Sampling instruments
Many instruments have been developed over the years for sampling airborne particles for the purpose of
assessing exposure or for determining the efficacy of dust control measures (see [6]). In the past, sampling
instruments were often inadequately standardised in terms of their collection characteristics. Modern
standards for monitoring exposure to airborne particles are performance based, i.e. they require that the
instruments used meet agreed performance criteria with respect to target specifications. This document is
intended to help those responsible for making measurements to select and use instruments that meet these
modern performance standards.
0.3 Inhalable, thoracic and respirable fractions of airborne particles
Most industrial aerosols contain particles of a wide range of sizes. The behaviour, deposition and fate of any
particle after entry into the human respiratory system, and the response that it elicits, depends on the nature
and size of the particle. For the purposes of occupational hygiene it is important to consider the concentrations
of particles present in different size fractions.
Inhalable dust corresponds to the fraction of airborne material that enters the nose and mouth during
breathing, and is therefore available for deposition anywhere in the respiratory tract. The target specification
for sampling the inhalable fraction is given in EN 481. In reality the inhalable fraction depends on the
prevailing air movement around the exposed person (wind speed and direction), and on whether breathing is
by nose or mouth. It has, however, been possible to define a target specification for sampling instruments that
approximates to the inhalable fraction, for representative values of breathing rate, and for a person exposed
equally to all wind directions.
Thoracic dust corresponds to the fraction of airborne material that passes through the nose or mouth of the
exposed person, and enters the branching airways of the lungs. The target specification for sampling the
thoracic fraction is given in EN 481. In reality the thoracic fraction depends on breathing rate and varies for
different individuals, however it has been possible to define a target specification for sampling instruments
which approximates to the thoracic fraction for an average person.
Respirable dust corresponds to the fraction of airborne material that penetrates to the gas exchange region of
the lung. The target specification for sampling the respirable fraction is given in EN 481. The respirable
fraction varies for different individuals, however it has been possible to define a target specification for
sampling instruments, which approximates to the respirable fraction for an average person.
NOTE 1 The PM 10 fraction is defined by US Environmental Protection Agency (and adopted in EN 12341). It also
corresponds to the fraction of material that passes through the nose or mouth of the exposed person, and passes the
larynx. However, it is based on other experimental data than the scientific basis for the thoracic fraction, and is therefore
slightly different. The main difference between the PM 10 and thoracic sampling conventions is that at 15 µm the sampling
efficiency for a sampler for PM 10 should be zero whereas it for a sampler for the thoracic fraction should be 19 %.
NOTE 2 The PM 2,5 fraction sampler is defined by US Environmental Protection Agency (see also EN 14907). It
corresponds to the fraction of material in the accumulation and nuclei modes of the ambient particle size distribution.
1 Scope
This Technical Report describes methods that are suitable for the determination of the health-related fractions
of most aerosols in the workplace.
For more complex aerosols such as bioaerosols, fibres, radioactive aerosols and particle-vapour mixtures
further considerations are necessary (see e.g. relevant standards).
This Technical Report is not applicable to the monitoring of airborne particle concentrations using direct-
reading instruments.
2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated
references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced
document (including any amendments) applies.
EN 481, Workplace atmospheres – Size fraction definitions for measurement of airborne particles
EN 482, Workplace atmospheres – General requirements for the performance of procedures for the
measurement of chemical agents
EN 689, Workplace atmospheres – Guidance for the assessment of exposure by inhalation to chemical
agents for comparison with limit values and measurement strategy
EN 1232, Workplace atmospheres – Pumps for personal sampling of chemical agents – Requirements and
test methods
EN 1540, Workplace atmospheres – Terminology
EN 12919, Workplace atmospheres – Pumps for the sampling of chemical agents with a volume flow rate of
over 5 l/min – Requirements and test methods
EN 13098, Workplace atmospheres – Guidelines for measurement of airborne micro-organisms and endotoxin
EN 13205, Workplace atmospheres – Assessment of performance of instruments for measurement of
airborne particle concentrations
ISO 15767, Workplace atmosphere – Controlling and characterizing errors in weighing collected aerosols
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in the standards listed above, if applicable,
apply.
4 Sampling strategy
No sampling strategy can provide comprehensive information for all objectives. The sampling strategy should
be carefully tailored to meet the required objectives. Before a measurement survey is started in the workplace
a number of fundamental questions like these have to be answered:
 why sample?
 how to sample?
 whose exposure should be measured?
 where to sample?
 when to measure?
 how long to sample for?
 how many measurements?
 how often to sample?
The reason being that time, money and sampling technology constraints are such that not every worker’s dust
exposure can be measured on every single day of his working career. An optimal sampling strategy will have
to be designed given the limited budget available. The actual sampling strategy used will be largely
determined by the reasons for the measurement survey. Several objectives can be mentioned:
 to provide information on personal exposure to evaluate compliance with limit values;
 to provide information on personal exposure in the framework of an epidemiological study;
 to provide information on the location and intensity of a source;
 to provide information on prevailing concentrations and trends in the general workplace atmosphere;
 to provide information on the effectiveness of control measures;
 to provide samples of airborne particles for subsequent analytical or toxicological investigations.
For the first two objectives personal sampling is well suited to measure or to monitor individual exposure of
workers to airborne particles. The aerosol is sampled in the breathing zone of individual workers. The other
objectives on the other hand are often met through static sampling. The aim of static sampling is usually to
measure and to analyse the workplace atmosphere in terms of aerosol concentration, particle size-distribution
and chemical or mineralogical composition. Another purpose of static sampling is monitoring of time-variations
in aerosol concentration at fixed locations. There can be special situations which need the app
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