ON THE SUITABILITY OF "BADGE" AIR SAMPLERS FOR HUMAN EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT

A brief literature scan suggests that personal monitoring of human exposures to air pollutants is essential in health impact assessment. Passive personal exposure monitoring devices (PEMs) are simple, inexpensive, rugged, and convenient to use, but at present are available mainly for occupational monitoring. Only a few prototype and commercial badge-type PEMs may be suitable for ambient SO2, NO2 and benzene measurements. A limited, fixed-location evaluation study is recommended for candidate devices.