VDI 2119:2011-10

Subject of the guideline is a passive sampling system for coarse dust, where particles are collected by sedimentation in the almost wind-free interior of the sampling device. The guideline describes the sampling procedure on different collection plates, the subsequent analysis of single particles with optical microscopy, and the application of further analytical methods. The guideline particularly supplies technical guidance for the characterization of particles with geometrical equivalent diameters >= 2,5 µm, for the distinction of particle types (e.g. soil minerals, tyre abrasion, salts, pollen) and for the calculation of the particle concentration based on transmitted light microscopy data. Moreover it defines the requirements for additional chemical or mineralogical analyses (e.g. ion chromatography, ICP-MS). The scope of this procedure includes the assessment of the air quality in health resorts, the GMO pollen monitoring, the distinction between particles of natural or anthropogenic origin and the estimation of the particle burden in urban systems. The described method is not suitable for air quality monitoring of legal limits.