US EPA

2132166 

Journal Article 

The Loss of PAH From Quartz Fiber High Volume Filters 

Galasyn, JF; Hornig, JF; Soderberg, RH 

1984 

Yes 

Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association
ISSN: 0002-2470 

NIOSH/00142445 

34 

1 

57-59 

The loss of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from quartz fiber filters during high volume sampling was studied. Quartz fiber filters were used outdoors in the summer and winter. Winter indoor samples were taken with a wood stove in use. Polyurethane foam disks, known to be free of PAHs, were mounted behind the quartz filters. PAHs were extracted ultrasonically from the filters and polyurethane. Recovery efficiencies were determined through comparison with spiked filters and disks with known PAH amounts. Each PAH extracted was identified through gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy. Benzo(a)pyrene (50328) was not lost from the filter in appreciable amounts. Less than 10 percent of phenanthrene (85018) and anthracene (120127) were retained by the quartz even at the coldest winter temperatures. For the indoors, almost all the phenanthrene and anthracene were lost to the polyurethane. Fluoranthene (206440), pyrene (129000), and chrysene (218019) were retained at amounts of less than 50 percent, but benz(a)anthracene (56553) was retained around 90 percent under coldest conditions. The authors conclude that high volume quartz fiber filters are not efficient for determining the lower molecular weight PAHs in the summer or winter. Polyurethane foam seems more effective.