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The aerosol nanoparticles are suspected to be exposed to workers in nanomaterial manufacturing facilities. However, the exposure assessment method has not been established. One of important issues is to characterize background level of nanoparticles in workplaces. In this study, intensive aerosol measurements were made at a TiO_2 manufacturing laboratory for five consecutive days in May of 2010. The TiO_2 nanoparticles were manufactured by the thermal-condensation process in a heated tube furnace. The particle number size distribution was measured using a scanning mobility particle sizer every 5 min, in order to detect particles ranging from 14.5 to 664 nm in diameter. Total particle number concentration shows a severe diurnal variation irrespective of manufacturing process, which was governed by nanoparticles smaller than 50 nm in diameter. During the background monitoring periods, significant peak concentrations were observed between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. due to the infiltration of secondary aerosol particles formed by photochemical smog. Although significant increase in nanoparticle concentration was also observed during the manufacturing process twice among three times, these particle peak concentrations were lower than those observed during the background measurement. It is suggested that the investigation of background particle contamination is needed prior to conducting main exposure assessment in nanomaterial manufacturing workplaces or laboratories.
