A new personal dosimeter for the monitoring of industrial pollutants

Abstract

A new passive sampling device (GASBADGE™dosimeter) has been developed for personal/ambient monitoring of industrial air pollutants. Compact and convenient to use (no pump, wet chemicals, or length of stain estimation required, etc.), it may be either worn or used for area monitoring. The operating principle is based upon Pick's first law of diffusion. Analysis of the collection element after exposure yields the time-weighted (TWA) exposure concentration. Promising results have been obtained to date in controlled exposures with sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. Preliminary data also indicate the applicability of the GASBADGE dosimeter to the monitoring of a wide variety of organic vapors.