EPA air monitoring chain of custody, Jan 2003

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

ASBESTOS and OTHER FIBERS by PCM: METHOD 7400, Issue 2, dated 15 August 1994 - Page 10 of 15

The above relative standard deviations apply when the population mean has been determined. It is more useful, however, for laboratories to estimate the 90% confidence interval on the mean count from a single sample fiber count (Figure 1). These curves assume similar shapes of the count distribution for interlaboratory and intralaboratory results [16].

For example, if a sample yields a count of 24 fibers. Figure 1 indicates that the mean interlaboratory count will fall within the range of 227% above and 52% below that value 90% of the time. We can apply these percentages directly to the air concentrations as well. If, for instance, this sample (24 fibers counted) represented a 500-L volume, then the measured concentration is 0.02 fibers/mL (assuming 100 fields counted, 25-mm filter, 0.00785 mm ’ counting field area). If this same sample were counted by a group of laboratories, there is a 90% probability that the mean would fall between 0.01 and 0.08 fiber/mL. These limits should be reported in any comparison of results between laboratories.

Note that the S of 0.45 used to derive Figure 1 is used as an estimate for a random group of laboratories. If several laboratories belonging to a quality assurance group can show that their interlaboratory S is smaller, then it is more correct to use that smaller S r. However, the estimated S , of 0.45 is to be used in the absence of such information. Note also that it has been found that S can be higher for certain types of samples, such as asbestos cement [9].

Quite often the estimated airborne concentration from an asbestos analysis is used to compare to a regulatory standard. For instance, if one is trying to show compliance with an 0.5 fiber/mL standard using a single sample on which 100 fibers have been counted, then Figure 1 indicates that the 0.5 fiber/mL standard must be 213% higher than the measured air concentration. This indicates that if one measures a fiber concentration of 0.16 fiber/mL (100 fibers counted), then the mean fiber count by a group of laboratories (of which the compliance laboratory might be one) has a 95% chance of being less than 0.5 fibers/mL; i.e., 0.16 + 2.13 x 0.16 = 0.5.

It can be seen from Figure 1 that the Poisson component of the variability is not very important unless the number of fibers counted is small. Therefore, a further approximation is to simply use +213% and -49% as the upper and lower confidence values of the mean for a 100-fiber count.

Figure 1. Interlaboratory Precision of Fiber Counts

NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods (NMAM), Fourth Edition, 8/15/94

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