US EPA

5067386 

Journal Article 

Benzene in Air Organic Vapor Monitors versus Charcoal Tubes 

Pristas, R 

1991 

Yes 

American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal
ISSN: 0002-8894 

52 

7 

The effectiveness of a passive badge monitor for measuring exposures to organic vapors was compared with that of charcoal tubes. A 3M 3500 organic vapor badge monitor was tested using benzene (71432) as a representative organic vapor. The badges were exposed to 1.04 parts per million (ppm) benzene vapor for 0.25 to 8 hours at relative humidities of 4 or 60% to assess the effect of humidity on sampling rate. Other badges were exposed to 0.05 to 8.4ppm benzene for 8 hours. In some experiments, toluene (108883), ethylbenzene(100414), and xylene (1330207) were present. The effect of reverse diffusion was evaluated with badges that were exposed to 1.06ppm benzene for 4 hours. Storage stability at room temperature was assessed by storing badges for 0, 14, and 28 days after exposure. The ability of the badges to accurately monitor transient exposures was evaluated by exposing them to 0.53ppm benzene for 15 minutes and to spikes of 18, 45, or 85ppm benzene for periods of less than 15 seconds or 2 or 5 minutes. The spike experiments were also performed in the presence or absence of EXXON leaded and unleaded gasoline vapor. The samplers were quantitated by gas chromatography. The sampling rates of the monitors at low and high humidities agreed with the value provided by the manufacturer, 25.5 cubic centimeters per minute. Both the badges and charcoal tubes gave comparable results when sampling for 8 hours. Data obtained with the badges were generally more precise than data obtained with the charcoal tubes. Data obtained in the presence of the other solvent vapors were comparable to that obtained when the solvents were absent. The badges performed acceptably in the short term and spike experiments, although the precision was less than in the long term exposure study. The data were not affected by the presence of gasoline vapors. The author concludes that the 3M passive badge is capable of obtaining comparable results relative to a charcoal tube when monitoring benzene in air.