Table of Contents
Significantly expanded and completely updated, this revision of the 1985 text provides an in-dept
look at particle size-selective criteria for aerosol exposure assessment. The book, prepared by the
ACGIH® Air Sampling Procedures Committee, considers not only the harmonized criteria agreed
upon by such scientific bodies as ISO, ACGIH®, and CEN, but also the new issues that are
emerging as a result of the criteria.
The book is divided into two parts. The first covers the background and status of what is now
generally agreed upon and adopted. Topics include the scientific rational for particle size-
selective sampling in both working and living environments; the essential physiological
background; research leading to the development of formal definitions for the inhalable, thoracic,
and respirable conventions in the working environment; and the development of corresponding
conventions for particles in the ambient atmospheric environment. The history and current status
of practical sampling instrumentation for the measurement of various particle size fractions is
discussed. A section also reviews the general framework for developing TLVs® and discusses how
the new particle size-selective sampling criteria may be applied in that process.
The second part of the book deals with emerging issues where new knowledge is pointing the
way towards the development of new or extended particle size-selective criteria. Among the
topics of discussion are the distinction between particles that penetrate into the lung and those
which are actually deposited, how the particle size affects the manner in which particles react
with biological systems, and how standards should be set to define and determine the
acceptability of aerosol sampling instruments in relation to the new particle size-selective
criteria.
