The average adult breathes in around
11,000 liters of air every day. With each breath, air travels through the
respiratory system. The respiratory system is very complex. It can get damaged
from the things in the air that we inhale. To understand how clean the air is and what is
in it we sample it. Sampling is used to monitor the air, researchers also use
it to study what particles are in the air. Hundreds of particles can be in the
air at any given time. These particles vary depending on where you live. Air pollution
from factories and car emissions are particles that you do not want to breath. A
few of these particles are okay, but not a large amount. A large amount will
cause damage to your respiratory system. Sampling the air will let us know if
the area has good clean air or not. There are many techniques you can use to
sample the air. An air sampling device must be properly calibrated before using
it. If it is not calibrated you will get results that are wrong and you will
not be able to use the data. Before using the pump, you need to make sure it is
fully charged. After turning on the pump you should run it for 10 minutes, because
when you first take it off the charger the batteries might cause a sudden surge
at the beginning. Also, making sure you take the sample in slow enough is very
important.
When collecting an air sample, you
need to do it over an 8-hour time period. Each hour could have different
readings. Many people work an 8-hour shift, collecting samples that they are
exposed to over their work day is very important. This will see if the
employees are safe during the work day. A worker that is exposed to polluted
air 8 hours a day 5 days a week is going to have health problems. Air quality
numbers are set to limits to ensure worker safety. Standards are set through OSHA.
It is the law that employers provide employees with safe working conditions.
For each chemical or particle, a number range is issued about what is safe and
what is not. Flow rate is determined by volume as it passes through an area per
time. To test the air that you are collecting sample bags are used. The bag
hooks onto the pump and the collected air flows into the bag. The bag is then
sent to the lab. When a good sample is collected without any errors it is a
stable sample. Around 2-3 blank samples will be taken. Blank samples are air
samples that do not run through the air pump. These blanks let the lab know
what was already in the air. The sample that we took in class was 2 liters per
minute. This is a safe sample of benzene. The parts per million is .75 and
anything under 1 is considered safe. This sample that was collected is
classified as being safe for employees to work in.
