Abstract

ISO 16107:2007 specifies methods for evaluation of sampler performance in terms of workplace conditions: wind speed, humidity, temperature, atmospheric pressure, and analyte variation. The concise set of experiments specified aims to minimize cost to the user. The evaluation is limited to conditions commonly encountered in personal sampling in the indoor workplace setting, namely wind speeds of up to 0,5 m/s and for sampling periods typically from 2 h to 8 h.

Static or area sampling, unlike personal sampling where movement of the subject is significant, may sometimes be subject to sampling-rate reduction due to stagnation at very low wind speeds. ISO 16107:2007 therefore does not apply to wind speeds of less than 0,1 m/s relative to static samplers. Samplers are also tested for compliance with the manufacturer's stated limits on capacity, possibly in the presence of interfering compounds. Given a suitable exposure chamber, the sampler evaluation protocol can be extended to cover sampler use for other sampling periods and conditions.

ISO 16107:2007 indicates how to measure diffusive sampler uncertainty for characterizing concentration estimates obtained subsequent to the evaluation. It is impractical continually to re-evaluate diffusive sampler performance under various environmental conditions prevailing during application.