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710137 
Journal Article 
Factors affecting soil adherence to skin in hand-press trials 
Kissel, JC; Richter, KY; Fenske, RA 
1996 
Yes 
Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology
ISSN: 0007-4861
EISSN: 1432-0800 
56 
5 
722-728 
English 
8661854 
WOS:A1996UA76200007 
NIOSH abstract: Laboratory studies on the effects of soil particle size and moisture content on soil adherence were conducted to quantify soil load, as a risk factor in skin contact with soil contaminants. Five locally obtained soils were characterized for testing. Hand press trials were done by placing a hand palm down in a pan of soil and gently agitating for 30 seconds. Hands were washed in 2% detergent, with a 4 liter garden sprayer providing water pressure. Wash water was filtered with 47 millimeter glass fiber filters with a 0.5 micrometer (microm) pore size. Filters were oven dried overnight, at 100 degrees-C, in tared aluminum weigh boats and cooled in a desiccator prior to weighing. Adherence and post adherence tests were performed on soils fractionated by size, through dry sieving, for 30 minutes. Comparisons were made with the Mannhitney U-test and t-tests. Adherence of dry soil, defined as less than 2% moisture, varied inversely with particle size and soil specific differences were significant by Mann/Whitney test (two tailed p-values less than 0.05) and for all but one case by t-test. Adherence of wet soils (12 to 18% moisture) varied directly with size. Within three of the five soils, paired differences between size fractions were significant by Mann/Whitney test and in all but one case by t-test. The differences between wet and dry samples, within size fractions, showed that most wet soils showed significantly greater adherence for larger particle sizes (greater than 150microm). The authors conclude that larger particle sizes are relevant in assessing exposure to contaminants when soil moisture exceeds 10%. In soils with less than 10% moisture content, particles less than 150microm in diameter are primarily responsible for adherence.