Abstract

A brief technical description is given of the plasma jet process, and reference is made to its likely practical applications in industry. An opportunity has been taken during experiments with a prototype plasma jet to assess some of the health hazards which might arise from these industrial applications and to indicate the type of precautions which should be observed in practice.

Measurements and analysis of the noise emitted during the operation of a jet showed that the sound intensities ranged from 79·5 to 90·5 dB (re 0·0002 dynes/cm.²) per octave band between 300 and 10,000 cycles/second. Three male volunteers exposed to the noise for a period of one hour were subsequently found to have a mean temporary threshold shift of 19 dB at 4,000 cycles/second.

Air sampling and analysis for ozone and nitrogen dioxide in the near vicinity of the jet gave a negative result for the former substance but demonstrated that the latter contaminant was present in concentrations ranging from 0·1 to 9·6 p.p.m.