Particulate matter characterization in an indoor workplace environment of a landfill

Abstract

The current study focus on the quantification of the particulate matter (PM10) concentrations at the workplace environment of a manual waste sorting of a landfill using portable real-time photometric monitors. Increased PM10 mass concentrations were measured during the process of manual sorting of waste. It is observed that the daily average PM10 concentration on working days was equal to 149 μg m-3 while the corresponding daily PM10 concentration on non-working days was equal to 42 μg m-3. Furthermore, the average concentration of PM10 was equal to 209 μg m-3 during working hours while during non working hours was equal to 48 μg m-3. An indoor mass balance model was applied to estimate the PM10 mass emission rates, as well as the particle loss rates due to all removal processes. A good agreement was obtained between the model predictions and the measurements. In addition, the PM10 field measurements were further analysed with the ExDoM (Exposure Dose Model) human dosimetry model which used for calculating the human exposure and the deposition dose, clearance, and finally retention of particles in the human respiratory tract (RT).