Aerosol deposition in human respiratory-tract casts
To assess the health hazard to the human presented by airborne particulate matter in the mining and industrial work environment, information is needed concerning total dose deposition and its distribution. Data has been obtained by depositing monodisperse ammonium fluorscein aerosols in respiratory system simulators consisting of combined human replica larynx casts and single-pathway trachebronchial (TB) tue models. Since they have only two airways in each generation distal to the trachea, airflow rates and patterns could be controlled in a practical manner with rotometers. Larynx configurations correspond to inspiratory flow rates of 15, 30 and 60 lmin. The mass median aerodynamic diameters of the aerosols ranged from 3.0 ..mu..m to 10.6 ..mu..m with geometric standard deviations of 1.11 to 1.16. Total larynx and TB deposition measurements could be expressed in terms of a single parameter, the particle Stokes number. Intrabronchial dose distribution results indicated relatively large tracheal losses, attributed to the laryngeal jet. Some airway bifurcations were sites of enhanced deposition. Such hot spots would indicate very high dosage to epithelial cells of workers' airways and have important implications regarding the establishment of threshold exposure values. Findings are in agreement with aerosol deposition data from replica TB casts. Inhalation exposure tests support the use of the single-pathway TB model as a suitable surrogate in studies of factors affecting aerosol behavior and deposition in the human.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 5204714
- Report Number(s):
- PNL-SA-9926; CONF-811167-2; ON: DE82012852
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: International symposium on aerosols in the mining and industrial environment, Minneapolis, MN, USA, 1 Nov 1981; Other Information: Portions of document are illegible
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
PARTICULATES
HEALTH HAZARDS
AMMONIUM COMPOUNDS
BIOLOGICAL ACCUMULATION
DEPOSITION
HUMAN POPULATIONS
INHALATION
LARYNX
MAN
PERSONNEL
SIMULATION
TRACHEA
ANIMALS
HAZARDS
INTAKE
MAMMALS
PARTICLES
POPULATIONS
PRIMATES
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
VERTEBRATES
570000* - Health & Safety
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