X-ray fluorescence analysis of air particulate matter generated at a welding site

The air particulate matter generated during welding operations is a major health concern for the welders as they trigger respiratory diseases. The information on elemental composition of the air particulate matter is required to know the toxicity as it depends on the constituent elements. We report the rapid analysis of air particulate matter at welding site, collected on whatman-41 filter paper. Internal standard method was used for the quantification of the elements both in energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) and total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) spectrometry. In EDXRF, the sample was found to be thin for the elements Z > 29 and intermediate thickness for the elements 28 ≤ Z ≤ 19 and thick for elements of Z ≤ 17. About 17 elements were detected in air particulate matter and out of which Al, Si, Ca and Fe share the highest contribution. The composition of particulate matter is modulated by the composition of the welding material and the adjacent construction activities. The combined uncertainty in XRF was evaluated by identifying all the uncertainty sources. The study showed fast, non-destructive analysis capability of EDXRF and TXRF as an excellent micro-analytical technique for the air particulate samples.