A chemosorptive cylindrical denuder designed for personal exposure measurements of isocyanates-evaluation on generated aerosols of 4,4'-methylenediphenyl diisocyanate

J Environ Monit. 2005 May;7(5):469-74. doi: 10.1039/b414047h. Epub 2005 Apr 12.

Abstract

A denuder/filter system constructed for solvent-free personal exposure measurements was evaluated for separation of vapour and particulate 4,4'-methylenediphenyl diisocyanate (4,4'-MDI) generated from heated PUR-foam. The two different phases were collected in the denuder and on the filter, respectively, by chemosorption on a polydimethylsiloxane (SE-30)-dibutylamine (DBA) stationary phase. Both repeatability and the total mass concentration of 4,4'-MDI were similar to that obtained from the reference method, in this case an impinger/filter system. The penetration of particles through the denuder at 300 ml min(-1) was nearly 100% in the particle size range 25 to 700 nm, which fits well with the Gormley-Kennedy equation. Denuder/filter sampling of the 4,4'-MDI aerosol at 500 ml min(-1) yielded a phase distribution that was in accordance with the results from the reference method. The method limit of detection was 6 ng m(-3) and 4 ng m(-3) for the denuder and filter, respectively, when using an air sampling flow rate of 300 ml min(-1) and a sampling period of 15 min. This is well below the Swedish occupational exposure limit (OEL) of 50 and 100 microg m(-3) for an 8-hour working day and a 5-min period, respectively.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study

MeSH terms

  • Adsorption
  • Aerosols
  • Allergens
  • Environmental Monitoring / instrumentation*
  • Filtration
  • Humans
  • Isocyanates / analysis*
  • Occupational Exposure*
  • Particle Size
  • Reference Values
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Volatilization

Substances

  • Aerosols
  • Allergens
  • Isocyanates
  • 4,4'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate