TY - JOUR
T1 - Personal and area exposure assessment at a stainless steel fabrication facility
T2 - an evaluation of inhalable, time-resolved PM10, and bioavailable airborne metals
AU - Newton, Ashley
AU - Adams, Karin
AU - Serdar, Berrin
AU - Dickinson, L. Miriam
AU - Koehler, Kirsten
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was funded under support from the Johns Hopkins University Education and Research Center for Occupational Safety and Health (ERC). ERC training grant funding comes from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), under Grant No. 5 T42 OH 008428. This project was also funded through NIOSH under Grant No. R21 OH 010661. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Department of Health and Human Services. We would also like to thank Cooper Environmental (now Sunset CES Inc.) for their generous loan of the Xact 625i Ambient Continuous Multi-Metals Monitor during our sampling days and students from the Environmental and Occupational Health program at Boise State for their assistance in the field.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 JOEH, LLC.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - This study describes a comprehensive exposure assessment in a stainless steel welding facility, measuring personal inhalable PM and metals, time-resolved PM10 area metals, and the bioavailable fraction of area inhalable metals. Eighteen participants wore personal inhalable samplers for two, nonconsecutive shifts. Area inhalable samplers and a time-resolved PM10 X-ray fluorescence spectrometer were used in different work areas each sampling day. Inhalable and bioavailable metals were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Median exposures to chromium, nickel, and manganese across all measured shifts were 66 (range: 13–300) μg/m3, 29 (5.7–132) μg/m3, and 22 (1.5–119) μg/m3, respectively. Most exposure variation was seen between workers ((Formula presented.) although cobalt and inhalable PM showed most variation within workers. Manganese was the most bioavailable metal from the inhalable size fraction (16 ± 3%), and chromium and nickel were 1.2 ± 0.08% and 2.6 ± 1.2% bioavailable, respectively. This comprehensive approach to welding-fume exposure assessment can allow for targeted approaches to controlling exposures based not only on individual measurements, but also on metal-specific measures and assessments of bioavailability.
AB - This study describes a comprehensive exposure assessment in a stainless steel welding facility, measuring personal inhalable PM and metals, time-resolved PM10 area metals, and the bioavailable fraction of area inhalable metals. Eighteen participants wore personal inhalable samplers for two, nonconsecutive shifts. Area inhalable samplers and a time-resolved PM10 X-ray fluorescence spectrometer were used in different work areas each sampling day. Inhalable and bioavailable metals were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Median exposures to chromium, nickel, and manganese across all measured shifts were 66 (range: 13–300) μg/m3, 29 (5.7–132) μg/m3, and 22 (1.5–119) μg/m3, respectively. Most exposure variation was seen between workers ((Formula presented.) although cobalt and inhalable PM showed most variation within workers. Manganese was the most bioavailable metal from the inhalable size fraction (16 ± 3%), and chromium and nickel were 1.2 ± 0.08% and 2.6 ± 1.2% bioavailable, respectively. This comprehensive approach to welding-fume exposure assessment can allow for targeted approaches to controlling exposures based not only on individual measurements, but also on metal-specific measures and assessments of bioavailability.
KW - Bioavailability
KW - chromium
KW - exposure
KW - manganese
KW - nickel
KW - particulate matter
KW - respiratory health
KW - welding fumes
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U2 - 10.1080/15459624.2020.1854460
DO - 10.1080/15459624.2020.1854460
M3 - Article
C2 - 33555996
AN - SCOPUS:85100754781
SN - 1545-9624
VL - 18
SP - 90
EP - 100
JO - Journal of occupational and environmental hygiene
JF - Journal of occupational and environmental hygiene
IS - 2
ER -