1. Exposure to Inhalable, Respirable, and Ultrafine Particles in Welding Fume
- Author
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Evelyn Heinze, Rainer Van Gelder, Johannes Pelzer, Thomas Brüning, Jens-Uwe Hahn, Anne Lotz, Benjamin Kendzia, Markus Mattenklott, Markus Berges, Katarzyna Gawrych, Carsten Möhlmann, Beate Pesch, Martin Lehnert, Tobias Weiss, Andrea Hartwig, and Ewald Punkenburg
- Subjects
Adult ,Materials science ,business.product_category ,inhalable particles ,Air Pollutants, Occupational ,Welding ,law.invention ,Young Adult ,UFP ,Limit of Detection ,Risk Factors ,law ,Germany ,Occupational Exposure ,None ,Ultrafine particle ,Humans ,Particle Size ,Respiratory Protective Devices ,Respirator ,Inert gas ,Aerosols ,Inhalation Exposure ,Manganese ,welding fume ,Gas tungsten arc welding ,Metallurgy ,technology, industry, and agriculture ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,General Medicine ,Middle Aged ,respiratory system ,Ventilation ,respirable particles ,Cross-Sectional Studies ,exposure ,Particle ,Particulate Matter ,Arc welding ,Particle size ,business ,Filtration ,Environmental Monitoring - Abstract
This investigation aims to explore determinants of exposure to particle size-specific welding fume. Area sampling of ultrafine particles (UFP) was performed at 33 worksites in parallel with the collection of respirable particles. Personal sampling of respirable and inhalable particles was carried out in the breathing zone of 241 welders. Median mass concentrations were 2.48 mg m(-3) for inhalable and 1.29 mg m(-3) for respirable particles when excluding 26 users of powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs). Mass concentrations were highest when flux-cored arc welding (FCAW) with gas was applied (median of inhalable particles: 11.6 mg m(-3)). Measurements of particles were frequently below the limit of detection (LOD), especially inside PAPRs or during tungsten inert gas welding (TIG). However, TIG generated a high number of small particles, including UFP. We imputed measurements
- Published
- 2012
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