Hazardous Dusts from the Fabrication of Countertop: A Review

Details

• Personal Author:
  Mandler, W. Kyle ; Qi, Chaolong ; Qian, Yong
• Description:
  Artificial countertop materials, including solid surface composites (SSC) and engineered stone (ES) may pose significant pulmonary health risks for workers who manipulate them. These materials have rapidly become popular in the multibillion-dollar countertop industry, rivaling that of natural materials such as granite and marble due to their variety of desirable esthetic qualities and reduced costs. Both SSC and ES consist of a mineral substrate bound together in a polymer matrix. For SSC the mineral is about 70% aluminum trihydrate (ATH) while ES contains up to 95% crystalline silica by weight. Both materials emit airborne dusts when being manipulated with power tools during the fabrication process. Several deaths and dozens of cases of silicosis have been identified worldwide in workers who fabricate ES, while a single case of fatal pulmonary fibrosis has been associated with SCC dust exposure. This review examines the current state of knowledge for both SSC and ES regarding the composition, particle emission characteristics, workplace exposure data, particle constituent toxicity, and possible methods for reducing worker exposure.
• Subjects:
  Dust Lung Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Pulmonary Fibrosis Respiratory System Silicon Dioxide Silicosis
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Aluminum Trihydrate; Airborne Dust; Engineered Stone; Pulmonary Toxicology; Respirable Crystalline Silica; Solid Surface Composites Stone Processing; Stone Products; Construction Materials; Crystalline Silica; Airborne Dusts; Silicosis; Lung Fibrosis; Systematic Reviews; Respirable Dusts;
• Source:
  Arch Environ Occup Health. 78(2):118-126
• Pubmed ID:
  35912480
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC9909587
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  CC999999/Intramural CDC HHSUnited States/
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division ; DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  14 pdf pages
• Volume:
  78
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20065795
• CAS Registry Number:
  Aluminum hydroxide (CAS RN 21645-51-2) ; Quartz (SiO2) (CAS RN 14808-60-7)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2023
• NORA Priority Area:
  Manufacturing ; Construction
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:87bb12cc56375b7ed7231dadc5d91154a353365abae8b90b0f612ad2788d8ae850ad637eed06dc81fd047ed2c31c4ab6fd68e86f92ba8a539f67ffe4aded487e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/124593/cdc_124593_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 324.08 KB ]