Blasting Abrasives: Health Hazard Comparison

Details

• Personal Author:
  Ahlers, Heinz ; Castranova, Vincent ; Greskevich, Mark F. ; Hearl, Frank J. ; Middendorf, Paul J.
• Description:
  Historically the most common form of abrasive blasting, sand blasting, has generated respirable quartz dust, which can lead to the development of silicosis, a deadly lung disease that continues to occur in abrasive blasters. Several substitutes for silica sand have been suggested, but little data exist which compare the respiratory health hazards of substitute abrasives to silica sand. This study compares the dust generation characteristics and in vivo toxicity of several blasting abrasives (table 1). Studies were conducted in controlled environments to compare concentrations of respirable quartz, respirable dust, and various toxic contaminants for each of the substitute abrasives relative to silica sand. Abrasive blasting with silica sand generated respirable quartz concentrations much greater than the NIOSH recommended exposure limit of 0.05 mg/m3, while the concentrations of respirable quartz were much lower when using substitute abrasives (table 2). However, some substitute abrasives generated concentrations of potentially toxic components more than 10 times the NIOSH REL (table 3). Steel grit was the only substitute abrasive that generated significantly less respirable dust than silica sand. NIOSH investigators reported the relative short-term in vivo toxicity of these substitutes by using intratracheal instillation of equal respirable dust concentrations of each abrasive in male rats. Short-term in vivo evidence indicates that, compared to silica sand, steel grit and specular hematite have less potential to cause lung disease. The potential long-term toxicity of steel grit requires further studies because it contains arsenic and nickel and some forms of arsenic and nickel can cause cancer. Each of the other substitute blasting abrasives caused in vivo lung toxicity similar to or greater than silica sand. Regardless of the choice of abrasive, effective engineering controls, work practices, and respiratory protection (i.e., Type CE abrasive-blasting supplied-air respirators for abrasive blasters) should be used to reduce the hazards associated with blasting abrasives and substrates. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aluminum Silicates Dust Epidemiology Hazardous Substances Irritants Lung Lung Diseases Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Quartz Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Silicon Dioxide

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• Keywords:
  Abrasive-blasting Fibrogenicity Health-hazards Lung-cells Lung-disease Lung-disorders Lung-irritants Occupational-exposure Occupational-hazards Occupational-respiratory-disease Pulmonary-disorders Pulmonary-function Pulmonary-system-disorders Quartz-dust Respiratory-irritants Respiratory-system-disorders Silica-dusts Silicates Silicosis Statistical-analysis

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• ISSN:
  0025-7818
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings ; Abstract
• 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 ; DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies ; OD - Office of the Director ; EID - Education and Information Division ; DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  93
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20027155
• Citation:
  Med Lav 2002 Oct; 93(Suppl):S42-S43
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2003
• NORA Priority Area:
  Research Tools and Approaches: Exposure Assessment Methods
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  La Medicina del Lavoro. 3rd International Symposium on Silica, Silicosis, Cancer and Other Diseases, S. Margherita Ligure, 21-25 October 2002
• Supplement:
  Suppl
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:56e6c4b2c194359d05f1f3385dd5a68b9ed89fd3438b2ff2ece54ec0d87c48a9621a50c60365c3d9fed9e77bd4eee9ee0c5aaff8f6f94afdbb93012c40e5707e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/197480/cdc_197480_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 691.69 KB ]