To study if the fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry(FTIR)-direct on filter(DOF) can be utilized for estimation quartz content in airborne respirable dusts from various manufacturing industries, analytical results were compared with those of the traditional KBr transfer (NIOSH 7602) methods. Respirable dust samples were collected using the 10mm Dorr-Oliver nylon cyclone equipped with a 25mm cassette. 30 area samples were collected from the stone, foundry, concrete and brickmaking factories. Quartz content was estimated using the intensity of the absorption peak of quartz at 799 cm_-1 by a FTIR.
Respirable dust concentrations ranged from 0.25 to 1.25㎎/㎥, and were highest at the stone treating factory. Quartz contents quantified by the transfer method were higher than those of by DOF method for samples from the foundry, brick, and concrete factories. No statistically significant difference of quartz content in samples from the stone factory was found.
The results of the study suggest that, although possible to use the FTIR-DOF method as a suitable substitute for analyzing quartz content, it is necessary to correct the influence of the interfering minerals in order to adopt the FTIR-DOF for routine analytical tool.
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