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Med. Pr. 2005;56(6):461-465

Exposure to hazardous chemical substances in furniture industry

Narażenie na szkodliwe substancje chemiczne w przemyśle meblarskim

Małgorzata Pośniak, Joanna Kowalska, Ivan Makhniashvili Central Institute for Labour Protection - National Research Institute, Warsaw, Poland

Abstract

Background: The aim of the study was to assess the exposure to organic solvents in plants of the furniture industry. Materials and Methods: Studies were conducted in five furniture plants. Hazardous chemicals present in the air at workposts were determined by capillary gas chromatography with mass spectrometry and flame ionization detection. Results: The analysis of air samples collected at the workposts allowed to identify the following chemicals occurring during varnishing and cleaning of furniture surface elements: acetone, butan-2-one, ethyl, isobutyl and methoxypropyl acetate, 4-methylpentan-2-on, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes. Indices characteristic of combined exposure ranged from 0.13 to 1.67 and exceeded the limit value at 21% of workposts. Conclusions: The results of the study indicate that chemicals present at representative workposts during the furniture production are harmful to health of workers, especially those involved in varnishing and cleaning of furniture elements.

Key words

workplace air, hazardous chemical substances, furniture industry