Lead levels in new residential enamel paints in Taipei, Taiwan and comparison with those in mainland China.

Five brands of new enamel household paints from Taiwan were analyzed: two multi-nationals and three local. The median lead concentration of 2574 parts per million (ppm) dry weight was more than 30 times the current US standard of 90ppm for new paints and was more than 4 times the former standard of 600ppm. Lead levels ranged from below detection (4.

A field method for near real-time analysis of perchloroethylene in end-exhaled breath.

The field method for near real-time analysis of perchloroethylene (Perc) in breath is simple, fast, and reproducible for Perc breath analysis in field settings and should prove useful in industrial hygiene practice. The method allows Perc monitoring with good specificity to the sub-part per million (ppm) level within minutes of exposure. A commercially available, portable gas chromatograph with a photoionization detector was used in these analyses.

Effects of retrofit emission controls and work practices on perchloroethylene exposures in small dry-cleaning shops.

The effectiveness of commercially available interventions for reducing workers' perchloroethylene exposures in three small dry-cleaning shops was evaluated. Depending upon machine configuration, the intervention consisted of the addition of either a refrigerated condenser or a closed-loop carbon adsorber to the existing dry-cleaning machine. These relatively inexpensive (less than $5000) engineering controls were designed to reduce perchloroethylene emissions when dry-cleaning machine doors were opened for loading or unloading.

An evaluation of retrofit engineering control interventions to reduce perchloroethylene exposures in commercial dry-cleaning shops.

Real-time monitoring was used to evaluate the ability of engineering control devices retrofitted on two existing dry-cleaning machines to reduce worker exposures to perchloroethylene. In one dry-cleaning shop, a refrigerated condenser was installed on a machine that had a water-cooled condenser to reduce the air temperature, improve vapor recovery, and lower exposures. In a second shop, a carbon adsorber was retrofitted on a machine to adsorb residual perchloroethylene not collected by the existing refrigerated condenser to improve vapor recovery and reduce exposures.