Skip Navigation


Annals of Occupational Hygiene Advance Access originally published online on July 15, 2009
Annals of Occupational Hygiene 2009 53(7):669-675; doi:10.1093/annhyg/mep047
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
53/7/669    most recent
mep047v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Dufresne, A.
Right arrow Articles by Perrault, G.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Dufresne, A.
Right arrow Articles by Perrault, G.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?


© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Occupational Hygiene Society

Beryllium Decontamination with Different Solvents on Different Structures

A. Dufresne1,*, C. Dion2, S. Viau2 and G. Perrault3

1 Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Pavillon Marguerite-d'Youville 2375, Chemin de la Côte-Ste-Catherine, Montréal, Québec H3T 1A8, Canada
2 Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail, 505 ouest de Maisonneuve, Montréal, Québec H3A 3C2, Canada
3 Consultation en R&D et Expertise en SST, 3285 de Bercy, Laval, Québec H7E 1V7, Canada

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +514-343-6134; fax: +514-343-2200; e-mail: andre.dufresne{at}umontreal.ca

The objective of the present work was to estimate the efficiency of moistened wipes in removing beryllium with different solutions including CitranoxTM, AlconoxTM, NaCl 5%, ResolveTM, and LedizolvTM on various types of surfaces such as unpainted metal, wood frames, painted metal, concrete, painted concrete, and PlexiglasTM from three different occupational settings. Of the three plants that were investigated, only surfaces in the aluminium smelter were decontaminated down to the clearance reference level of 0.2 µg 100 cm–2, with all the solvents used. In the machine tooling and milling department, the clearance level of 0.2 µg 100 cm–2 was reached after the three decontaminations, with all the solvents. In the machine plant for the military, aerospace, and telecommunications industries, the beryllium concentrations on the concrete wall, before decontamination with the high-pressure gun, were usually >3 µg 100 cm–2, and concentrations as high as 31 µg 100 cm–2 were measured. After the high-pressure cleanup, the beryllium concentrations were sometimes reduced by a factor of 10, but never reached the clearance level. Beryllium compounds that had adhered to most types of structures that we attempted to decontaminate were reduced to below the clearance reference value except on concrete floors. There did not seem to be any difference between the decontamination actions for all the solvents used in this study.

Keywords: AlconoxTM • beryllium • CitranoxTM • Ghost WipeTM • LedizolvTM • NaCl 5% • ResolveTM • surfaces

Received February 28, 2009; in final form June 24, 2009


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.