ABSTRACT
The anthropogenic fibrous aerosol existing in the working, indoor, and outdoor environments is always mixed with other types of aerosols and dusts. It is necessary to have methods that are able to differentiate between fibrous and nonfibrous particles. Important information about an aerosol resides in the morphology and in the chemical composition of individual particles. The fibrous emissions are collected on nuclepore filters or membrane filter and then the number of fibers, their size distribution, and identities are evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy. SEM is generally viewed as an intermediate analytical tool providing increased fiber visibility and moderate analytical capabilities compared with phase-contrast optical microscopy. The microscopical methods used for routine identification of fibrous particles belong, in principal, among the group of modem physical methods for chemical analysis of individual particles. In the laser microprobe mass spectrometry equipment, the specimen with fibrous particles is observed by means of an optical microscope or scanning electron microscope.
