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Med. Pr. 2002;53(5)

Dust exposure in a pottery plant assessed using GRIMM dust monitor

Ocena stężeń pyłu na stanowiskach pracy w zakładzie porcelany z zastosowaniem pyłomierza laserowego GRIMM

Helena Wośniak, Grażyna Stroszejn-Mrowca, Natalia Kita

Abstract

In one of the pottery plants in which pneumoconiosis was the only certified occupational disease (16 cases during the years 1984-1997), the concentrations of dust in inhalable, thoracic and respirable fractions were measured at most characteristic workplaces. The highest concentrations in all the three fractions was found in the slip house; the mean concentrations were as follows: inhalable dust - 7231.8 ľg/m³; thoracic fraction - 4834.9 ľg/m³; and respirable fraction 1402.2 ľg/m³. High concentrations of all the dust fractions were also observed at the workplace of the intershop transport worker who removed the waste body from cast and throw shops. The largest number of pneumoconiosis (7) cases was found among the workers of the slip house (20 persons employed); this was followed by the intershop transport workers - 4 cases (4 persons employed).
At the other workplaces (cast shop, throw shop and firing), concentrations of inhalable dust ranged from 1175 to 3232 ľg/m³; thoracic from 726 to 2001 ľg/m³; and respirable from 146 to 549 ľg/m³. The contents of free crystalline silica (SiO₂) in the air dust ranged from 3% in firing to 50% in slip house, in the latter mostly inthe form of quartz or cristobalite. The main fraction of inhalable dust was the tracheobronchial fraction, ranging from 43.1 to 48.2%, the extrathoracic fraction ranged from 32.8 to 42.3% and respirable fraction from 11.8 to 21.6%. On the basis of the graphic record, such activities as pouring of raw materials into grinding mill and reloading of the waste body were identified at the workplaces of slip making and internshop transport as those associated with the highest dust emission.

Key words

dust exposure, inhalable, thoracic and respirable dust concentration, pottery plant, GRIMM dust monitor, graphic record of dust concentration