Study on the concentration of airbone respirable asbestos fibres in rural areas of the Lublin region in south-east Poland.

Objective: The objective of the study was measurement of the concentrations of airborne asbestos fibres in the rural environment of the Lublin Region in south-east Poland.

Methods: Measurements of concentrations of respirable asbestos fibres were carried out in the rural areas of the Lublin Region (Lublin and Włodawa counties) for a period of 24 months. The studies were conducted on 3 farms with various technical conditions of asbestos-containing materials: Farm A - good technical condition of asbestos products, Farm B - poor technical condition, and Farm C - with no asbestos containing products and no such products in its direct vicinity (up to 500 m). On the selected farms, 3 samples on each were simultaneously collected at 3 measuring sites. During the period 2009-2011, a total number of 216 samples were collected on all farms. Sampling was performed using JSH 16,000 stationary aspirators, with air flow velocity of 16 l/min. and sampling time 60-80 minutes. The number of fibres on filters was determined using an optical phase contrast microscope.

Results: The study showed that the mean concentration of respirable asbestos fibres on the farms examined was 296 fibres•m (-3). The highest concentrations were noted on Farm B was 529 fibres•m (-3), on average; on farm A the mean concentration of respirable fibres was 328 fibres•m (-3), whereas the lowest mean concentration of airborne respirable asbestos fibres was noted on farm C, where there were no asbestos products (30 fibres•m(-3)).