1.

VAPOR
- The most common example of a vapor is steam - water vaporized during boiling or vaporation
- Water vapor is water in its gaseous state-instead of liquid or solid (ice). Water vapor is totally
invisible. If you see a cloud, fog, or mist, these are all liquid water, not water vapor.
- In physics a vapor is a substance in the gas phase at a temperature lower than its critical
temperature, which means that the vapor can be condensed to a liquid by increasing
the pressure on it without reducing the temperature
- You might hear the term "vapor." Vapor and gas mean the same thing. The word vapor is used
to describe gases that are usually liquids at room temperature. Good examples of these types of
liquids include water (H2O) and mercury (Hg). They get the vapor title when they are in a
gaseous phase. You will probably hear the term “water vapor” which means water in a gas state.
Compounds such as carbon dioxide (CO2) are usually gases at room temperature. Scientists will
rarely talk about carbon dioxide vapor.

2. Vapor Pressure
- We have volatile liquids, they evaporates very fast. This means they have very low vapour
pressure.
- Force exerted by the gas or vapor released by a liquid or solid substance in a closed container or
space. Vapor pressure is a relative measure of the tendency to evaporate (volatility), depends
on the nature of the substance and ambient temperature, and reaches a state of equilibrium
(where no more vapors escape from the substance) in closed spaces.
- Often expressed as pounds per square inch (PSI), it is stated usually in millimeters of mercury
(mmHg) at 68°F (20°C) in a MSDS.
- Gas molecules exert a pressure when they collide with objects.
- Vapor pressure measures how much water vapor is in the atmosphere in terms of its pressure.
- It is a measure of the tendency of molecules and atoms to escape from a liquid or a solid.

3. GASES
- A gas is defined as a state of matter consisting of particles that have neither a
defined volume nor defined shape. It is one of the four fundamental states of matter, along with
solids, liquids, and plasma. Under ordinary conditions, the gas state is between the liquid and
plasma states. A gas may consist of atoms of one element (e.g., H2, Ar) or of compounds (e.g.,
HCl, CO2) or mixtures (e.g., air, natural gas).
- A gas is a form of matter that does not have a defined shape or volume. Gasses
expand to fill the space they are given.
4. Dust
- fine particles
- comes from soil, volcanic eruption, pollution, or dead skin cell
5. FOG
- Fog is a cloud in contact with the ground. When the relative humidity approaches 100 percent,
water vapor condenses on tiny particles suspended in the air to form a suspension of small
water drops. The air in contact with the ground can reach high relative humidity if it cools or
when water from the surface evaporates into it.
- Fogs are named for the ways in which they form. Common types of fog in Wisconsin include:
radiation fog, advection fog, and evaporation fog. Radiation fogs form on clear, calm and long
nights when the ground and the air near it cool by radiation. As the air temperature drops, the
relative humidity increases and fog can form. Early morning fogs are often radiation fogs.
- Thick cloud of tiny water droplets suspended in the atmosphere at or near the earth's surface
that obscures or restricts visibility (to a greater extent than mist; strictly, reducing visibility to
below 1 km).
- When warm air is advected (blown horizontally) over a cold surface, the air near the ground
cools as it exchanges energy with the surface. The relative humidity of the air increases with
cooling and an advection fog may form.
- If you take a long hot shower, you may “fog up” the bathroom. Some of the warm water from
the shower evaporates into the cooler bathroom air, moistening it and forming a fog – an
evaporation fog. Evaporation fogs also form over lakes when much colder air moves over
warmer water.
- You may also notice steam fog from some lakes in the fall or early winter. Cold air overlaying
warm air near the warm lake surface is an unstable configuration, lending itself to rising air.
The mixing of cool air chills the warmer, more moist air immediately above the lake to allow
condensation and a cloud to form. You can typically see wispy, vertical currents of fog rising
from the lake.
- fog is a collection of water droplets suspended in the atmosphere in the vicinity of the earth's
surface that affects visibility
6. MIST
- So in conclusion, the defining difference between mist and fog is visibility; if it is less than 1,000
metres we call it 'fog' and if visibility is greater than 1,000 metres we call it 'mist'.
- Mist is tiny droplets of water hanging in the air. These droplets form when warmer water in the
air is rapidly cooled, causing it to change from invisible gas to tiny visible water droplets.
Mist often forms when warmer air over water suddenly encounters the cooler surface of land.
However, mist can also form when warm air from land suddenly encounters cooler air over the
ocean. This is the cause of the summer fog in San Francisco, California. You can even create mist
yourself, as you probably know, when you exhale the warm air from your body into the cold air.
Mist is a lot like its cousin, fog. The difference between the two depends on how well you can
see. Mist is less dense than fog. If you can't see beyond one kilometer (two-thirds of a mile) in
front of you, it's fog that's clouding your vision. If you can see more than that, it's just mist.
7. FUMES
- A fume or fumes refers to vapors (gases), dusts and/or smoke given off by a substance as a
result of a chemical transformation such as reaction, heating, explosion or detonation.
- Inhalation of these fumes is dangerous because each component is hazardous.
 - Finally, note that many metal fumes, such as those generated in metal refining operations,
soldering, and welding are significant health hazards.
- A gas or vapour/vapor that smells strongly or is dangerous to inhale. Fumes are solid particles
formed by condensation from the gaseous state, e.g. metal oxides from volatilized metals.
- Fumes are formed when a metal is heated above its boiling point and its vapours condense into
very fine, particles (solid particulates). Welding fumes generally contain particles from the
electrode and the material being welded. (OSHA)

PEL and TLV

They all refer to airborne concentrations of substances and represent conditions under which it is
believed that nearly workers may be repeated exposed day after day without adverse health effects.

Permissible exposure limits are set by OSHA to protect workers against the adverse effects of exposure
to chemical substances. In the world of gas detection, PELs limit the amount or concentration of a
substance in the air and generally are based on an 8-hour time-weighted average exposure.

A threshold limit value, set by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, is the
limit of exposure to a chemical substance that a worker can be exposed to, day after day, without
adverse health effects. TLVs are estimates based on the known toxicity of a chemical substance in
humans or animals given the currently available analytical and technological resources. To determine
TLVs, ACGIH uses committees to review various published literature in disciplines such as industrial
hygiene, toxicology and occupational medicine. TLVs are then developed as recommendations or
guidelines and are intended to be interpreted and used by a person trained in the discipline of industrial
hygiene.

Given the above definitions, the terms still sound remarkably similar. However, their differences are
beginning to emerge. PELs are legal limits, meaning OSHA can enforce their use and any non-compliance
in the United States. In contrast, TLVs are recommendations. Although ACGIH is a well-known and
respected scientific organization that contributes to the PELs set by OSHA, its TLVs are not legal limits.

1. A time weighted average (TWA) is the average exposure within the workplace to any hazardous
contaminant or agent using the baseline of an 8 hour per day or 40 hours per week work
schedule. The TWA reflects the maximum average exposure to such hazardous contaminants to
which workers may be exposed without experiencing significant adverse health effects over the
standardized work period. The TWA is expressed in units of parts per million (ppm) or mg/m3

9. Lower flammability limit (LFL),[1] usually expressed in volume per cent, is the lower end of
the concentration range over which a flammable mixture of gas or vapour in air can be
ignited at a given temperature and pressure. The flammability range is delineated by the
upper and lower flammability limits. Outside this range of air/vapor mixtures, the mixture can
not be ignited (unless the temperature and pressure are increased)