1999 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Development of a new respirator for organic vapors with a built-in breakthrough detector using semiconductor gas sensors.
| Project/Area Number |
09557035
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 展開研究 |
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| Research Field |
Public health/Health science
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| Research Institution | University of Occupational and Environmental Health |
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Principal Investigator |
HORI Hajime UOEH, School of Health Sciences, Professor, 産業保健学部, 教授 (70140902)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
ICHIMATSU Sumiyo UOEH, School of Health Sciences, Instructor, 産業保健学部, 助手 (40289591)
ARASHIDANI Keiichi UOEH, School of Health Sciences, Professor, 産業保健学部, 教授 (10141748)
HIGASHI Toshieki UOEH, IIES, Professor, 産業生態科学研究所, 教授 (10119000)
ISHIDAO Toru UOEH, School of Health Sciences, Instructor, 産業保健学部, 助手 (90212901)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1997 – 1999
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| Keywords | organic vapor / semiconductor sensor / breakthough time / gas mask / respirator cartrigde |
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| Research Abstract |
To predict the breakthrough of organic vapors in a respirator cartridge when a worker is wearing it is usually difficult because the service life of the cartridge for organic vapors depends on many factors, such as, the kinds of vapors, concentration, temperature, relative humidity and the respiratory rate. In this study, a method for determining the breakthrough of the vapors in the respirator cartridge was developed. Air containing organic vapors was introduced into the cartridge, and the breakthrough curve was obtained by measuring the vapor concentration at downstream of the respirator with a gas chromatograph (GC) equipped with a flame ionization detector. Simultaneously, an output signal from a semiconductor sensor that was inserted in the downstream of the cartridge was recorded in an IC card temporally. After the measurement, the data recorded in the card were transferred to a personal computer and the change in the output signal from the sensor was compared with the breakthrough curve obtained by the GC. More than eight kinds of solvents including aromatic hydrocarbons, chlorinated hydrocarbons, acetates, alcohols, ketones and aliphatic hydrocarbons were tested. The sensitivity of the sensor for chlorinated hydrocarbons was generally low, especially when the relative humidity was high, but the rising time of the signal from the sensor was almost the same as or earlier than the breakthrough time obtained by the GC. These results suggest that the sensor is applicable as a detector of the breakthrough in respirator cartridges for organic vapors. Based on the results, a respirator with a breakthrough detector was developed, and its availability was discussed.
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