Criteria and Test Methods for Certifying Air-Purifying Respirators Against Radioiodine: October 1, 1976—September 30, 1978

Technical Report · Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1979

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5792970· OSTI ID:5792970

Wood, Gerry O. ^[1]; Vogt, Gerald J. ^[1]; Gray, Douglas C. ^[1]; Kasunic, Claudine A. ^[1]

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1. Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

A project has been initiated to provide a standard test procedure to define the effectiveness of air-purifying respirator cartridges or canisters for airborne radioiodine. The information, procedures, and apparatus designs will provide the means by which air-purifying respirators can be approved for this application. The critical parameters limiting the efficiency and capacity of a given adsorbent cartridge for a given vapor species are: airflow rate, relative humidity, and vapor concentration. Cartridge or canister design parameters such as bed geometry and sorbent used are also critical. A preliminary test system was built. It was used to determine the magnitudes of effects of critical environmental and sorbent bed design parameters on the retention of methyl iodide. Potential radioiodine sorbents were challenged with parts-per-million concentrations of nonradioactive methyl iodide. The resulting breakthrough curves were best described by the equations of the Theory of Statistical Moments. Relative humidity, flow rate, bed diameter, and bed depth had the effects on bed capacity anticipated. However, a concentration effect on capacity was observed that has several implications for respirator cartridge lifetime predictions.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE; USNRC
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 5792970
• Report Number(s): LA--8029-PR; NUREG/CR-1055
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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42 ENGINEERING
420202* -- Engineering-- Protective Structures & Equipment
560171 -- Radiation Effects-- Nuclide Kinetics & Toxicology-- Man-- (-1987)
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ADSORPTION
AEROSOLS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
COLLOIDS
DATA
DATA FORMS
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
DESIGN
DISPERSIONS
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FLOW RATE
GEOMETRY
HUMIDITY
INFORMATION
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
IODINE 131
IODINE ISOTOPES
ISOLATED VALUES
ISOTOPES
MATHEMATICS
NUCLEI
NUMERICAL DATA
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
PERFORMANCE TESTING
QUANTITY RATIO
RADIOACTIVE AEROSOLS
RADIOISOTOPES
RESPIRATORS
SOLS
SORPTION
SORPTIVE PROPERTIES
SURFACE PROPERTIES
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
TESTING