A WIPE SAMPLER FOR THE QUANTITATIVE MEASUREMENT OF DUST ON SMOOTH SURFACES - LABORATORY PERFORMANCE STUDIES

A flat surface wipe sampler has been developed to quantitatively measu re the concentration (mu g/g) and surface loading (mu g/cm(2)) of dust on flat surfaces. The Lioy-Weisel-Wainman (LWW) Sampler has been test ed under conditions that controlled particle deposition in a chamber f or two types of particles: road dust and potting soil, and for three d ifferent types of surfaces: painted shelving, formica, and wood paneli ng. The results for replicate analyses demonstrated that the sampler h as > 90% efficiency for the capture of deposited dust and had a coeffi cient of variation of < 20% for replicate samples of the wooden shelvi ng and formica. The wood paneling had a higher coefficient of variatio n, although it was less than 25%, due to its porosity. Operating proce dures are presented and illustrated, and results from a study that use d the technique to sample chromium from residential settings are also discussed.