Diesel Particulate Matter (DPM) in Workplaces in Germany

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Abstract
Diesel particulate matter (DPM) is regarded as carcinogenic in Germany, with threshold limit values for underground noncoal mining of 0.6 mg/m3 and for surface workplaces of 0.2 mg/m3. The current German practice for workplace surveillance is described, and sampling and measurement procedures are discussed. Currently, diesel soot is collected on quartz fiber filters using the respirable dust fraction and oxidized in an oxygen atmosphere to yield carbon dioxide. This component is analyzed as a direct measure of DPM by applying coulometry as a detection method. A thermal desorption/decomposition step is used for analytical determination of elemental carbon as a future measure of DPM exposure. Coulometry is then applied as a detection technique as well. By using this method, lower detection limits of about 5 μg carbon per filter may be obtained. The procedure has been used in a variety of workplaces in Germany. The results are presented in detail. Surface workplace exposures are generally below 0.15 mg/m3, but those in underground salt and potash mines are generally higher. In these workplaces a further differentiation between different types of workplaces may be performed. Where levels of exposure in repair shops are also generally below 0.15 mg/m3, the so-called winning range of the mines, characterized by intense operation of loading and transportation machinery, shows concentrations below 0.3 mg/m3. The change in analyte from total carbon to elemental carbon in connection with the analytical procedure has occured in Germany in early 1997.

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