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2003 Progress Report: Development of a Personal Cascade Impactor Sampler (PCIS)
EPA Grant Number: R828678C009Subproject: this is subproject number 009 , established and managed by the Center Director under grant R824834
(EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
Center: Mickey Leland National Urban Air Toxics Research Center (NUATRC)
Center Director: Beskid, Craig
Title: Development of a Personal Cascade Impactor Sampler (PCIS)
Investigators: Sioutas, Constantinos
Institution: University of Southern California
EPA Project Officer: Stacey Katz/Gail Robarge,
Project Period: January 2, 2001 through December 31, 2005 (Extended to December 31, 2008)
Project Period Covered by this Report: January 2, 2003 through December 31, 2004
RFA: Mickey Leland National Urban Air Toxics Research Center (NUATRC) (1997)
Research Category: Air Quality and Air Toxics , Targeted Research
Description:
Objective:The purpose of this program was to develop a personal sampler for particulate matter (PM) that would allow separation of airborne particles by size, and analyses of the particles for their toxic metal content. The sampler would operate with the help of a high efficiency personal air pump (Pump) that would be developed by SKC, Inc., via an independent contract with the Mickey Leland National Urban Air Toxics Research Center (NUATRC). Both the development of the personal sampler and the pump were closely coordinated. One sampler unit was developed as part of this grant. Specific aims of the study included: (1) development of the personal sampler, (2) evaluation of compatibility with the pump, (3) laboratory evaluation of the sampler/pump system, and (4) field evaluation of the sampler/pump system.
Progress Summary:This study was developed in response to NUATRC RFA 99-01, “Development of New Generation Personal Monitors for Fine Particulate Matter and its Metal Content.” It was awarded to the University of Southern California (USC) in October 2000 under a previous grant (R824834C009) to develop a particulate matter personal sampler that would provide continuous 24-hour sampling, separate particles by size, and be unobtrusive, inexpensive, and easy to use. The project is in compliance with appropriate quality control and quality assurance procedures as per NUATRC and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines.
The study developed a personal cascade impactor sampler (PCIS), which is a miniaturized cascade impactor, consisting of four impaction stages, followed by an after-filter. Particles are separated in the following aerodynamic particle diameter ranges: <0.25, 0.25-0.5, 0.5-1.0, 1.0-2.5 and 2.5-10 μm. The PCIS operates at a flow rate of 9 LPM using a very high efficiency, battery-operated light-weight pump at a pressure drop of 11 in H2O (2.7 kPa).
Each PCIS stage was evaluated using four impaction substrates: (a) 2.5 cm quartz filter, (b) 2.5 cm aluminum foil disk, (c) 2.5 cm polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) filter, and (d) 2.5 cm quartz filter coated with a thin layer of mineral oil (for the 0.25 μm stage only). The results suggested that the use of coating, used for minimizing particle bounce but which would potentially interfere with chemical analysis of the collected particulate matter, is not necessary.
Experiments were conducted for the 0.25 and 1.0 μm stages, using PTFE substrates, to identify a maximum particle mass loading range in a given PCIS stage. The data demonstrated that particle bounce and reentrainment do not occur for loadings at least as high as 3.16 mg.
Tests were performed to evaluate the ability of the PCIS to conserve labile constituents using labile aerosol such as the polydisperse ammonium nitrate. The results indicated that the cutpoints of the stages were conserved.
Tests conducted with the PCIS in the wind tunnel facility of School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles showed that the particle penetration characteristics of the PCIS 2.5 μm stage were unaffected by wind speeds.
A field study was conducted wherein the PCIS was collocated with the micro orifice uniform deposit impactor (MOUDI, Model 110, MSP Corp, Minneapolis, MN) and the scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS, TSI Model 3936), aerodynamic particle sizer (APS, TSI Model 3320) inside the particle instrumentation unit. The tests indicated that losses from the PCIS were substantially lower than those in the MOUDI. Very good overall agreement was obtained between the PCIS and SMPS-APS concentrations for the particle sizes 2.5-1.0, 0.5-1.0 and 0.25-0.5 μm.
The compatibility of the PCIS and a prototype of the Leland Legacy Pump developed by SKC, Inc., was tested in a single run by operating the PCIS in conjunction with the pump for a 24-hour period. The test run was successful as the flow rate and pressure drop is conserved over the 24 hr period.
A Draft Final Report for the study was received by NUATRC in December 2002 and was reviewed by a team of external reviewers and the Center’s Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP). A Revised Final Report was received in April 2003 and was reviewed by the SAP. The SAP has recommended publication of the report. The report is currently undergoing scientific editing.
The sampler is available commercially as the “Sioutas Cascade Impactor” on the website: http://www.skcinc.com/new.asp 
- Scientific editing of the Revised Final Report.
- Publication of the report.
Journal Articles on this Report: 2 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
| Other subproject views: | All 5 publications | 5 publications in selected types | All 4 journal articles |
| Other center views: | All 122 publications | 54 publications in selected types | All 46 journal articles |
| Type | Citation | ||
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Misra C, Singh M, Shen S, Sioutas C, Hall PM. Development and evaluation of a personal cascade impactor sampler (PCIS). Journal of Aerosol Science 2002;33(7):1027-1047. |
R828678C007 (2001) R828678C007 (2002) R828678C007 (2003) R828678C007 (2004) R828678C007 (Final) R828678C009 (2003) R828678C009 (Final) R827352 (2004) R827352 (Final) R827352C014 (Final) |
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Singh M, Misra C, Sioutas C. Field evaluation of a personal cascade impactor sampler (PCIS). Atmospheric Environment 2003;37(34):4781-4793. |
R828678C009 (2002) R828678C009 (2003) R828678C009 (Final) R827352 (Final) R827352C014 (Final) |
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POLLUTANTS/TOXICS, ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Air, Scientific Discipline, Health, RFA, PHYSICAL ASPECTS, Engineering, Chemistry, & Physics, Risk Assessment, Risk Assessments, Health Risk Assessment, Physical Processes, Air Pollution Effects, air toxics, Chemicals, Biochemistry, particulate matter, Air Pollution, Environmental Monitoring, exposure assessment, heavy metals, airborne urban contaminants, air sampling pump, cardiovascular disease, health effects, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), urban air, environmental contaminants, chemical detection techniques, lung inflamation, chemical composition, aerosol particles, air sampling, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, human health risk, air pollutants, human health effects, atmospheric particles, urban air quality, exposure, urban air pollution, human health, biomarker, human exposure, particulate exposure
Relevant Websites:
http://www.sph.uth.tmc.edu/mleland/
http://www.skcinc.com
Progress and Final Reports:
2001 Progress Report
2002 Progress Report
Original Abstract
Final Report
Main Center Abstract and Reports:
R824834 Mickey Leland National Urban Air Toxics Research Center (NUATRC)
Subprojects under this Center:
(EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
R824834C001 Air Toxics Exposures Among Teenagers in New York City and Los Angeles - A Columbia-Harvard Study (TEACH)
R824834C002 Cardiopulmonary Response to Particulate Exposure
R824834C003 VOC Exposure in an Industry Impacted Community
R824834C004 A Study of Personal Exposure to Air Toxics Among a Subset of the Residential U.S. Population (VOC Project)
R824834C005 Methods Development Project for a Study of Personal Exposures to Toxic Air Pollutants
R824834C006 Relationship Between Indoor, Outdoor and Personal Air (RIOPA)
R824834C007 Development of the "Leland Legacy" Air Sampling Pump
R824834C008 Source Apportionment of Indoor Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Urban Residences
R824834C009 Development of a Personal Cascade Impactor Sampler (PCIS)
R824834C010 Testing the Metals Hypothesis in Spokane
R828678C001 Air Toxics Exposures Among Teenagers in New York City and Los Angeles—A Columbia-Harvard Study (TEACH)
R828678C002 Cardiopulmonary Effects of Metal-Containing Particulate Exposure
R828678C003 VOC Exposure in an Industry Impacted Community
R828678C004 A Study of Personal Exposure to Air Toxics Among a Subset of the Residential U.S. Population (VOC Project)
R828678C005 Oxygenated Urban Air Toxics and Asthma Variability in Middle School Children: A Panel Study (ATAC–Air Toxics and Asthma in Children)
R828678C006 Relationship between Indoor, Outdoor and Personal Air (RIOPA). Part II: Analyses of Concentrations of Particulate Matter Species
R828678C007 Development of the “Leland Legacy” Air Sampling Pump
R828678C008 Source Apportionment of Indoor PAHs in Urban Residences 98-03B
R828678C009 Development of a Personal Cascade Impactor Sampler (PCIS)
R828678C010 Testing the Metals Hypothesis in Spokane
R828678C011 A Pilot Geospatial Analysis of Exposure to Air Pollutants (with Special Attention to Air Toxics) and Hospital Admissions in Harris County, Texas
R828678C012 Impact of Exposure to Urban Air Toxics on Asthma Utilization for the Pediatric Medicaid Population in Dearborn, Michigan
R828678C013 Field Validation of the Sioutas Sampler and Leland Legacy Pump – Joint Project with EPA’s Environmental Technology Validation Program (ETV)
R828678C014 Performance Evaluation of the 3M Charcoal Vapor Monitor for Monitor Low Ambient Concentrations of VOCs
R828678C015 RIOPA Database Development
R828678C016 Contributions of Outdoor PM Sources to Indoor and Personal Exposures: Analysis of PM Species Concentrations” Focused on the PM Speciation and Apportioning of Sources
R828678C017 The Short and Long-Term Respiratory Effects of Exposure to PAHs from Traffic in a Cohort of Asthmatic Children