EPA Method 5I

Isokinetic.
Heated out of stack filter (M5).
"Condensible" particulates pass through the filter and condense in impingers. Can readily be combined with a CPM Method.
Tester may adjust out-of-stack filter temperature to suit source specific conditions.

Particulate Matter (PM) -- those substances retained in the sampling nozzle/probe and on a heated filter after the removal of uncombined water.

A minimum sample catch of 50 mg is targeted to calculate the minimum sample times
- An absolute minimum of 3 mg catch is required;
- Any expected catch of less than 50 mg will require the use of EPA Alternative Method 005 to process the samples.
During sampling a filter is maintained at a specified temperature (248oF + 25oF)
Do not use silicone grease - it can be soluble in the probe rinse and can bias the PM value high.
Run the train isokinetically.
Stainless steel nozzles should be used with great care, port scrapings can bias results high.

Acetone must be shipped as a hazardous material. Please call for IATA codes if you need them.
Samples may be shipped at ambient temperatures.
It may prove more economical to keep acetone rinses separate, ship other samples normally, and the acetone as hazardous.
Be sure to include a chain of custody for each shipping container.

The EPA's first attempt (promulgated in 1999) at measuring very low mass particulate catches.
Clean Air has implemented many of the quality improvements from Method 5I into all of our gravimetric analyses.
- These low emissions measurements can now be possible using any gravimetrics technique (EPA M5, EPA M201A, EPA M202, etc.).
- Method 5I Lists the MDL as 0.5 mg. Clean Air Routinely quantifies our MDL at around 0.25 mg, for all sample matrices.
Your target sample catch should be around 1-1.5 mg total, using our MDL as a guideline:
- EPA M5I suggests 3 mg as a target catch with a specified MDL of 0.5 mg.
- Clean Air can cut your sampling time in half, saving field time and money.