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Annals of Occupational Hygiene Advance Access published online on August 3, 2004
Annals of Occupational Hygiene, doi:10.1093/annhyg/meh048
Copyright © 2004 by the British Occupational Hygiene Society.
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Received March 7, 2003
Accepted February 3, 2004

Article

Evaluating Exposures to Complex Mixtures of Chemicals During a New Production Process in the Plastics Industry

Tim Meijster 1, Igor Burstyn 2, Berna Van Wendel de Joode 3, Maarten A. Posthumus 4, Hans Kromhout 1*

1 Environmental and Occupational Health Division, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University, PO Box 80176, 3508 TD Utrecht, The Netherlands
2 Environmental and Occupational Health Division, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University, PO Box 80176, 3508 TD Utrecht, The Netherlands; Department of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, The University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
3 Environmental and Occupational Health Division, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University, PO Box 80176, 3508 TD Utrecht, The Netherlands; Department of Chemical Exposure Assessment, TNO Chemistry, Zeist, The Netherlands
4 Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: h.kromhout{at}iras.uu.nl.


  Abstract

The goal of this study was to monitor emission of chemicals at a factory where plastics products were fabricated by a new robotic (impregnated tape winding) production process. Stationary and personal air measurements were taken to determine which chemicals were released and at what concentrations. Principal component analyses (PCA) and linear regression were used to determine the emission sources of different chemicals found in the air samples. We showed that complex mixtures of chemicals were released, but most concentrations were below Dutch exposure limits. Based on the results of the principal component analyses, the chemicals found were divided into three groups. The first group consisted of short chain aliphatic hydrocarbons (C2-C6). The second group included larger hydrocarbons (C9-C11) and some cyclic hydrocarbons. The third group contained all aromatic and two aliphatic hydrocarbons. Regression analyses showed that emission of the first group of chemicals was associated with cleaning activities and the use of epoxy resins. The second and third group showed strong association with the type of tape used in the new tape winding process. High levels of CO and HCN (above exposure limits) were measured on one occasion when a different brand of impregnated polypropylene sulphide tape was used in the tape winding process. Plans exist to drastically increase production with the new tape winding process. This will cause exposure levels to rise and therefore further control measures should be installed to reduce release of these chemicals.


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