Uploaded February 2013 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
The mass distribution of an aerosol is of particular interest both to the industrial hygienist and to the research worker concerned with problems of inhalation toxicology. Since the cascade impactor was first introduced about 1945, it has enjoyed an ever-increasing utilization in industrial hygiene and in related fields where a knowledge of aerosol size distribution and concentration is of interest. They were commonly in the nuclear weapons industry after WWII, to estimate the particle size distribution of uranium aerosols that were dispersed during machining and various metallurgical operations. Cascade impactors have been used for many years for the classification of particles by aerodynamic size. Since the original study of the cascade impactor in 1945, numerous impactors have been designed and used in testing worker exposure to dusts. Typically, a cascade impactor is made up of a number of classification stages consisting of a nozzle and an impaction plate. In each stage an aerosol stream passes through the nozzle and impinges upon the plate. Particles in the aerosol stream having a large enough inertia will impact upon the plate, and smaller particles will pass as an aerosol onto the next stage. By designing each successive stage with higher aerosol velocities in the nozzle, smaller diameter particles will be collected at each stage. Particles too small to be collected in the last stage are generally collected on an after-filter. This clip is from the 1956 Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) film, Atomic Cities. This film tells of American cities located near atomic power plants, and steps taken monitoring radiation to ensure the safety of the public who live nearby. It shows precautions taken to assure that residents of communities near atomic energy installations are not endangered by the plant's use of radioactive materials. It describes routine checks of surrounding soil, vegetation, and air for radioactivity; explains problems of disposing of radioactive wastes and methods of solution in use or under study. This film was part of an AEC film series titled The Magic of the Atom aimed at the public and focused on electrical energy and isotopes used in industry, medicine, biological research, and in agriculture.
The mass distribution of an aerosol is of particular interest both to the industrial hygienist and to the research worker concerned with problems of inhalation toxicology. Since the cascade impactor was first introduced about 1945, it has enjoyed an ever-increasing utilization in industrial hygiene and in related fields where a knowledge of aerosol size distribution and concentration is of interest. They were commonly in the nuclear weapons industry after WWII, to estimate the particle size distribution of uranium aerosols that were dispersed during machining and various metallurgical operations. Cascade impactors have been used for many years for the classification of particles by aerodynamic size. Since the original study of the cascade impactor in 1945, numerous impactors have been designed and used in testing worker exposure to dusts. Typically, a cascade impactor is made up of a number of classification stages consisting of a nozzle and an impaction plate. In each stage an aerosol stream passes through the nozzle and impinges upon the plate. Particles in the aerosol stream having a large enough inertia will impact upon the plate, and smaller particles will pass as an aerosol onto the next stage. By designing each successive stage with higher aerosol velocities in the nozzle, smaller diameter particles will be collected at each stage. Particles too small to be collected in the last stage are generally collected on an after-filter. This clip is from the 1956 Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) film, Atomic Cities. This film tells of American cities located near atomic power plants, and steps taken monitoring radiation to ensure the safety of the public who live nearby. It shows precautions taken to assure that residents of communities near atomic energy installations are not endangered by the plant's use of radioactive materials. It describes routine checks of surrounding soil, vegetation, and air for radioactivity; explains problems of disposing of radioactive wastes and methods of solution in use or under study. This film was part of an AEC film series titled The Magic of the Atom aimed at the public and focused on electrical energy and isotopes used in industry, medicine, biological research, and in agriculture.
