Annals of Occupational Hygiene Advance Access originally published online on January 13, 2005
Annals of Occupational Hygiene 2005 49(4):335-343; doi:10.1093/annhyg/meh099
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
© 2005 British Occupational Hygiene Society Published by Oxford University Press;
Original Article |
Assessment of Exposure to Quartz, Cristobalite and Silicon Carbide Fibres (Whiskers) in a Silicon Carbide Plant
1 Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail, 505 De Maisonneuve Blvd. West, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 1C2; 2 McGill University, 3450 University Street, FDA Building, room 31, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 2A7; 3 Centre de santé et de services sociaux de l'Énergie, 1600 Blvd. Hubert-Biermans, Shawinigan, Quebec, Canada G9N 8L2
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: dion.chantal{at}irsst.qc.ca
ABSTRACT
The main objective of the present paper is to report on the concentration of silicon carbide (SiC) fibres, crystalline silica and respirable dust in a Canadian SiC production plant and to compare the results with earlier investigations. The second objective is to tentatively explain the differences in concentration of the fibrogenic substances between different countries. The assessment of SiC fibres, dusts, respirable quartz and cristobalite was performed according to standard procedures. The highest 8 h time-weighted average concentrations of fibres were found among the crusher and backhoe attendants and the carboselectors with an arithmetic mean of 0.63 fibres ml–1 for the former group and 0.51 fibres ml–1 for the latter group. The results of respirable SiC fibres in the Canadian plant were lower than in the Norwegian and Italian industries. Most of the 8 h time-weighted average concentrations for quartz were less than or around the limit of detection of 0.01 mg m–3. The maximum 8 h time-weighted average concentration for quartz was found among the carboselectors (0.157 mg m–3), followed by the labourers (0.032 mg m–3). Similarly, most of the 8 h time-weighted average cristobalite measurements were less than the limit of detection of 0.01 mg m–3 except for the carboselectors where it was found to be 0.044 mg m–3. The assessment of the Italian occupational settings exposure demonstrated elevated quartz concentrations, while cristobalite was absent. The authors have concluded that the investigations that were performed in the last two decades in this field by researchers from different countries seem to support that SiC fibres (whiskers) constitute a major airborne health hazard.
Keywords: crystalline silica • silicon carbide (SiC) • SiC fibre
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  S. Foreland, E. Bye, B. Bakke, and W. Eduard Exposure to Fibres, Crystalline Silica, Silicon Carbide and Sulphur Dioxide in the Norwegian Silicon Carbide Industry Ann. Hyg., July 1, 2008; 52(5): 317 - 336. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|