A Method for Monitoring Worker Exposure to Airborne Multifunctional Acrylates

Abstract

Increased use of multifunctional acrylates in surface coatings cured with ultraviolet radiation may result in increased worker exposure to airborne contaminants, but present methods are inadequate to assess the exposure levels. We have developed a method for sampling and analyzing aerosols and vapors containing multifunctional acrylates and benzophenone in order to investigate worker exposure levels. Aerosols were sorbed on glass fiber filter and vapors on tenax sorbent, desorbed with acetone, and analyzed by a gas chromatograph using a flame ionization detector and a 5 percent phenyl methyl silicone capillary column. The method was applied to the multifunctional acrylates 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate and tripropylene glycol diacrylate, as well as to the photoinitiator benzophenone. The parameters investigated were recovery (85%), precision (<5%), storage stability (20 days at 4°C), and detection limits. Concentrations as low as 2 μg/m³ for multifunctional acrylates and 1 μg/m³ for benzophenone can be measured. The concentrations of multifunctional acrylates ranged from <2 to 15 μg/m³ and those of benzophenone from <1 to 30 μg/m³ in the workers' breathing zones. Our results indicate that it is possible to measure worker exposure to low concentrations of multifunctional acrylates with this method, which is based on a two-phase sampling system and gas chromatographic analysis.