DOSIMETRY AND MONITORING OF AROMATIC AMINES

UP TO 35,000 WORKERS OF THE U.S. CHEMICAL INDUSTRY AND MORE THAN 270,000 WORKERS IN THE PETROLEUM AND COAL-RELATED INDUSTRIES MAY BE EXPOSED DAILY TO CARCINOGENIC AND MUTANOGENIC COMPOUNDS FROM THE AROMATIC AMINE GROUP. COAL GAS, INC. DEVELOPED A VERY SIMPLE HIGH-TECHNOLOGY APPROACH TO MONITORING THE EXPOSURE OF PERSONNEL TO TRACE LEVELS OF POLLUTANTS AND IS PROPOSING TO CONDUCT R & D WHICH WILL EXTEND THE TECHNOLOGY TO AROMATIC AMINES. COAL GAS, INC. TECHNOLOGY, DENOTED CHROMOSENSE (TM), CONSISTS OF A THIN WAFER WHICH CHANGES COLOR UPON EXPOSURE TO SPECIFIC GASES AND OF AN ELECTRONIC DUAL-BEAM PHOTOMETER WHICH CAN BE USED TO QUANTITIZE THE COLOR THAT DEVELOPS UPON WXPOSURE. EACH WAFER HAS A COLOR CHART WHICH ALLOWS VISUAL ESTIMATES OF THEEXPOSURE. THE ELECTRONIC PHOTOMETER ALLOWS MORE ACCURATE ASSESSMENT OF THE EXPOSURE VIA A DIRECT INTERFACE TO A COMPUTER FOR ROUTINE DAILY DOCUMENTATIONS OF THE EXPOSURE OFEACH INDIVIDUAL.