Size distribution of particulate matter in indoor environment during nanomaterial paint application

Abstract

Due to the increasing production and development of nanoparticles, it has become necessary to control the exposure to ultrafine particles (aerodynamic diameter < 0.1 mu m) when handling nanopaints. The paper deals with the number and mass distribution of particulate matter (PM) in an indoor environment before, during and after the application of paint Protectam FN containing titanium nanoparticles. The size distribution determination was performed by the electrical low-pressure cascade impactor (ELPI+) in the range from 0.006 mu m to 9.93 mu m. The highest number of particles was observed in the range from 0.006 to 0.0175 mu m. The particulate mass concentration ranging from 0.0175 to 0.0307 mu m did not represent more than 0.5% of the sum of PM10 during the individual measurements. The particle mass concentration increased in the range of 0.0175 to 0.0307 mu m, after application of the eating nanopaint Protectam FN, but it was observed that the total number of particles has decreased. During the days following the application of the nanopaint, the mass concentration in this grain size class was significantly reduced.