Comparison of total suspended particulate concentration using tapered element oscillating microbalance and a TSP sampler

A comparison of the concentration of the total suspended particulate matter measured by the TEOM® monitor and the isokinetic TSP samplers developed at the University of Illinois was carried out in several types of confinement livestock buildings. In majority of the measurements done, the dust concentration measured by the TEOM monitor was lower than UIUC isokinetic TSP sampler; TEOM monitor tend to underestimate the total dust concentration by between 6 and 54 percent. The difference in measurements can be attributed to the sampling efficiency of the TEOM monitor sampling head and the loss of some semi-volatile compounds and particle-bound water due to heating of the TEOM monitor sampling stream to 50°C. While several literatures supported these arguments, this study did not investigate the effect of heating the sampling stream or the effect of moisture on the relative difference in dust concentration measurements. The model that best describes the relationship between the two methods was site specific, i.e. linear regression model was applicable only to four of the sites monitored. The measured total dust concentration in livestock buildings range from about 500 to 4,000 μg m ^-3; higher correlation coefficient between TEOM-TSP and UIUC-TSP monitors was obtained in swine facilities than those obtained in a laying facility.