5 - Air Monitoring

Abstract

This chapter discusses the purpose of air monitoring that is to identify and quantify all airborne contaminants so that the level of worker protection needed can be determined. Air monitoring is conducted in a variety of stages and categories. The chapter identifies the factors to consider when conducting air monitoring at a hazardous waste site. The first factor is presenting strategies for assessing inhalation exposure to chemicals at the hazardous waste sites. The second factor is describing instruments and methods for measuring exposures. Identification is often a qualitative event, that is, the contaminant or the class to which it belongs is demonstrated to be present, but the determination of its concentration must wait on subsequent testing. Two principal approaches toward identification and quantification of airborne contaminants are available, both derived from NIOSH and industrial hygiene standards. Identification and quantification of these contaminants through air monitoring are essential components of a health and safety program at a hazardous waste site. The first standard is the on-site use of direct-reading air survey instruments, and the other is the laboratory analyses of air samples. Direct-reading instruments provide information in real time, enabling immediate decision making. The information provided by direct-reading instruments can be used to institute appropriate protective measures, determine the most appropriate equipment for further monitoring, and develop optimum sampling and analytical protocols. To detect relatively low-level concentrations of contaminants, long-term personal air samples, also called as full-shift samples, are analyzed in a laboratory. Full-shift air samples may be collected passively or by means of a pump that draws air through a filter or a sorbent.