Skin, Clothing, and Surface Contamination with Metals at a Powder Additive Manufacturing Facility

Details

• Journal Article:
  Safety
• Personal Author:
  Stefaniak, Aleksandr B. ; Brusak, Elizabeth D. ; Bowers, Lauren N. ; Kron, Austin ; Friend, Sherri A. ; Virji, M. Abbas
• Description:
  Powder bed fusion (PBF) and directed energy deposition (DED) additive manufacturing use feedstock powders that contain metals associated with skin diseases. We performed a survey of surface contamination and limited task-based dermal exposure assessment (four employees) at a PBF and DED facility. Skin wipes of wrists for two employees in the PBF room had higher post-task levels of chromium, cobalt, molybdenum, and nickel. Personal clothing worn by PBF employees showed evidence of contamination with metals as did personal protective equipment (PPE). Microscopy analysis documented contamination of metals throughout most areas of the facility. Levels of metals on surfaces throughout the facility were (ng/cm2) <5.0-7247 (aluminum), <0.2-4899 (chromium),
• Subjects:
  • Clothing
  • Metals
  • Occupational Health
  • Printing, Three-Dimensional
  • Protective Clothing
  • Safety
  • Skin
• Keywords:
  • Additive manufacturing; Skin exposure; Dermal exposures; Metals; Clothing; Three dimensional printing; 3D printing; Exposure assessment; Personal protective equipment; PPE; Environmental contamination; Dermatitis;
  • Author Keywords: removal (wipe) sampling; dermatitis; contaminant migration; 3D printing; exposure mitigation
• Source:
  Safety 2026 Apr; 12(2):54
• ISSN:
  2313-576X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Chicago Region OSHA ; Ohio ; Philadelphia Region OSHA ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  RHD - Respiratory Health Division ; HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  22 pdf pages
• Volume:
  12
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071549
• Contact Point Address:
  Aleksandr B. Stefaniak, Respiratory Health Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, WV 26505, USA
• Email:
  boq9@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2026
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/259324/cdc_259324_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.35 MB]
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d3f13e8883ed53dd6ad5e8b4d08422dc7cd92596018031ead1c10778b4c004c7b56409164cb7efdedc2cb69e3d2622a260961a9d504373df9a1923c19850c2e5