Geldenhuys G., Rohwer E.R., Naudé Y., Forbes P.B.C.
Laboratory for Separation Science, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, Lynnwood Road, Pretoria, South Africa; Mineral Processing Laboratory, Impala Platinum Limited, 123 Bethlehem Drive, Rustenburg, South Africa
Geldenhuys, G., Laboratory for Separation Science, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, Lynnwood Road, Pretoria, South Africa, Mineral Processing Laboratory, Impala Platinum Limited, 123 Bethlehem Drive, Rustenburg, South Africa; Rohwer, E.R., Laboratory for Separation Science, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, Lynnwood Road, Pretoria, South Africa; Naudé, Y., Laboratory for Separation Science, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, Lynnwood Road, Pretoria, South Africa; Forbes, P.B.C., Laboratory for Separation Science, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, Lynnwood Road, Pretoria, South Africa
Concentrations of diesel particulate matter and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in platinum mine environments are likely to be higher than in ambient air due to the use of diesel machinery in confined environments. Airborne PAHs may be present in gaseous or particle phases each of which has different human health impacts due to their ultimate fate in the body. Here we report on the simultaneous sampling of both phases of airborne PAHs for the first time in underground platinum mines in South Africa, which was made possible by employing small, portable denuder sampling devices consisting of two polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) multi-channel traps connected in series separated by a quartz fibre filter, which only require small, battery operated portable personal sampling pumps for air sampling. Thermal desorption coupled with comprehensive gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC×GC-TofMS) was used to analyse denuder samples taken in three different platinum mines. The samples from a range of underground environments revealed that PAHs were predominantly found in the gas phase with naphthalene and mono-methylated naphthalene derivatives being detected at the highest concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 18μgm-3. The particle bound PAHs were found in the highest concentrations at the idling load haul dump vehicle exhausts with a dominance of fluoranthene and pyrene. Particle associated PAH concentrations ranged from 0.47 to 260ngm-3 and included benzo[k]fluoranthene, benzo[a]pyrene, indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene and benzo[ghi]perylene. This work highlights the need to characterise both phases in order to assess occupational exposure to PAHs in this challenging sampling environment. © 2015 Elsevier B.V.
Aromatic compounds; Aromatic hydrocarbons; Aromatization; Chromatography; Desorption; Gas chromatography; Hydrocarbons; Machinery; Mass spectrometry; Naphthalene; Platinum; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; Polydimethylsiloxane; Pyrene; Quartz; Silicones; Spectrometry; Thermal desorption; Denuders; Diesel exhaust emissions; Diesel particulate matters; Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry; Naphthalene derivatives; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHS); Polydimethylsiloxane PDMS; Underground environment; Platinum mines; dimeticone; naphthalene derivative; platinum; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon; air pollutant; exhaust gas; particulate matter; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon; Article; calibration; concentration response; degradation; desorption; environmental exposure; environmental monitoring; mass fragmentography; mining; particulate matter; principal component analysis; quantitative analysis; South Africa; thermal desorption comprehensive gas chromatography mass spectrometry; thermostability; ubiquitination; workshop; air pollutant; analysis; devices; exhaust gas; human; mass fragmentography; mining; procedures; Air Pollutants, Occupational; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Humans; Mining; Particulate Matter; Platinum; Polycyclic Hydrocarbons, Aromatic; South Africa; Vehicle Emissions