Many of the epidemiology studies performed are difficult to compare because of differences in worker populations, industrial settings, welding techniques, duration of exposure, and other occupation...

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Health effects of welding.

DISCLAIMER The use of company or product name(s) is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. A Toxicological Profile for cobalt, Draft for Public Comment was released in July 2001. This edition supersedes any previously released draft or final profile. Toxicological profiles are revised and republished as necessary. For information regarding the update status of previously released profiles, contact ATSDR at: vi Background Information The toxicological profiles are developed by ATSDR pursuant to Section 104(i) (3) and (5) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA or Superfund) for hazardous substances found at Department of Energy (DOE) waste sites. CERCLA directs ATSDR to prepare toxicological profiles for hazardous substances most commonly found at facilities on the CERCLA National Priorities List (NPL) and that pose the most significant potential threat to human health, as determined by ATSDR and the EPA. ATSDR and DOE entered into a Memorandum of Understanding on November 4, 1992 which provided that ATSDR would prepare toxicological profiles for hazardous substances based upon ATSDR=s or DOE=s identification of need. The current ATSDR priority list of hazardous substances at DOE NPL sites was announced in the Toxicological Profiles are a unique compilation of toxicological information on a given hazardous substance. Each profile reflects a comprehensive and extensive evaluation, summary, and interpretation of available toxicologic and epidemiologic information on a substance. Health care providers treating patients potentially exposed to hazardous substances will find the following information helpful for fast answers to often-asked questions. Chapter 1: Public Health Statement: The Public Health Statement can be a useful tool for educating patients about possible exposure to a hazardous substance. It explains a substance's relevant toxicologic properties in a nontechnical, question-and-answer format, and it includes a review of the general health effects observed following exposure. Chapter 3: Health Effects: Specific health effects of a given hazardous compound are reported by type of health effect (death, systemic, immunologic, reproductive), by route of exposure, and by length of exposure (acute, intermediate, and chronic). In addition, both human and animal studies are reported in this section. NOTE: Not all health effects reported in this section are necessarily observed in the clinical setting. Please refer to the Public Health Statement to identify general health effects observed following exposure. The following additional material can be ordered through the ATSDR Information Center: Case Studies in …

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Toxicological profile for cobalt

Magnetic particulates in the environment, collected from surfaces and directly from the atmosphere, are reported. A significant percentage of magnetic material in many air‐borne samples consists of spherical magnetite from coal‐burning utilities and from iron/steel manufacturing with particle diameters 2–10 μm which correspond to average coercive fields of ∼100 Oe and remanence to saturation ratios of ∼0.1. The amount of air‐borne magnetic material that settles to the ground varies inversely with distance from its source.

Collection, measurement, and analysis of airborne magnetic particulates from pollution in the environment (invited)

It is estimated that more than 1 million workers worldwide perform some type of welding as part of their work duties. Epidemiology studies have shown that a large number of welders experience some type of respiratory illness. Respiratory effects seen in full-time welders have included bronchitis, siderosis, asthma, and a possible increase in the incidence of lung cancer. Pulmonary infections are increased in terms of severity, duration, and frequency among welders. Inhalation exposure to welding fumes may vary due to differences in the materials used and methods employed. The chemical properties of welding fumes can be quite complex. Most welding materials are alloy mixtures of metals characterized by different steels that may contain iron, manganese, chromium, and nickel. Animal studies have indicated that the presence and combination of different metal constituents is an important determinant in the potential pneumotoxic responses associated with welding fumes. Animal models have demonstrated that stainless steel (SS) welding fumes, which contain significant levels of nickel and chromium, induce more lung injury and inflammation, and are retained in the lungs longer than mild steel (MS) welding fumes, which contain mostly iron. In addition, SS fumes generated from welding processes using fluxes to protect the resulting weld contain elevated levels of soluble metals, which may affect respiratory health. Recent animal studies have indicated that the lung injury and inflammation induced by SS welding fumes that contain water-soluble metals are dependent on both the soluble and insoluble fractions of the fume. This article reviews the role that metals play in the pulmonary effects associated with welding fume exposure in workers and laboratory animals.

Pulmonary responses to welding fumes: role of metal constituents.

A need for rapid and inexpensive (proxy) methods of outlining areas exposed to increased pollution by atmospheric particulates of industrial origin caused scientists in various fields to use and validate different non-traditional (or non-chemical) techniques. Among them, soil magnetometry seems to be a suitable tool, at least in some cases. This method is based on the knowledge that ferrimagnetic particles, namely magnetite, are produced from pyrite during combustion of fossil fuel. Besides the combustion processes, magnetic particles can also originate from road traffic, for example, or can be included in various waste-water outlets. Magnetite, Fe3O4, ranks among the main ferrimagnetic minerals and its identification in various ecosystems can contribute to fast and simple outlining of areas and sites exposed to higher pollution impact. Here the method of magnetic mapping of anthropogenic pollution will be introduced using a review of our recent case studies on different ecosystems in the Czech Republic and Germany.

Low-field magnetic susceptibility: a proxy method of estimating increased pollution of different environmental systems.

A study of the chemical structure of particles in the welding fumes of mild and stainless steel

Composition, morphology and solubility of chromium and nickel in fumes from stainless steel manufacturing, based on ferrochrome, and in dusts from grinding of stainless steel, were studied. The results were compared with corresponding analyses of stainless steel welding fumes. In fumes from the melting of ferrochrome and stainless steel, as well as in dusts from the grinding of stainless steel, chromium is only slightly oxidized to the hexavalent state. Therefore, chromates are present in very low concentrations in contrast to manual metal arc welding fumes where chromium is oxidized to CrO3 and reacts with alkali oxides (K2O, CaO) to form respective chromates. Nickel occurs in fumes from stainless steel manufacturing mainly as metallic alloyed element in the iron matrix or in small amounts as oxide (NiO). In stainless steel welding fumes, separate nickel oxide particles have been found. Airborne particles originating from the melt are typically round and possibly covered by a slag layer.

Chromium and nickel aerosols in stainless steel manufacturing, grinding and welding

The effects of fume particles given off by the manual metal arc (MMA) and metal inert gas (MIG) welding of stainless steel (SS) and mild steel (MS) were studied on rat alveolar macrophage cultures in vitro. The fumes were generated by welding, and particulate material obtained was collected on membrane filters. The macrophage cultures were exposed to the total dust and to its water-insoluble fractions. Cell variability and the release of both lactate dehydrogenase and one lysosomal enzyme from the cells to the medium were measured after an exposure period of 24 h. The cytotoxic control dust was DQ 12 quartz, and the inert control dust was pure titanium dioxide. According to the parameters studied, SS/MMA and MS/MMA welding fumes were cytotoxic to rat alveolar macrophages. The cytotoxic effect of SS/MMA welding fumes decreased after the samples had been washed with phosphate-buffered salt solution. The MIG welding fumes of SS and MS had markedly smaller effects on the cells. Diluted solutions of potassium chromate were also tested in order to investigate its role in the cytotoxicity of SS/MMA welding fumes. The results suggest that hexavalent chromium may be responsible for the cytotoxicity of SS/MMA.

Cytotoxic effects of four types of welding fumes on macrophages in vitro: a comparative study.

A magnetic method for measuring the amount of metal contaminants retained in the lungs was applied to workers in an iron- and steelmaking plant.

Dusts in a steel-making plant. Lung contamination among iron workers.

Ferrimagnetic metal aerosols originating from the processing of various steels and the resulting occupational exposure have been studied. A description of the phases of steel production is given and the respective dust emissions are characterized using chemical, physical and electronoptical analysis methods. Special attention has been paid to iron, chromium and nickel compounds. Recent developments of the magnetic measuring method for lung-retained ferrimagnetic dust are described, and the results compared with cumulative dust concentrations. The significance of urinary chromium and nickel concentrations as indicators of exposure has been evaluated. The results show that the solubility properties and the chemical composition of chromium and nickel compounds vary greatly between the different handling stages of stainless steel. Alveolar retention of fumes from manual metal arc welding of stainless steel seems to exceed that of the other dusts under study.

Tom Gustafsson

Papers

A study of the chemical structure of particles in the welding fumes of mild and stainless steel

Chromium and nickel aerosols in stainless steel manufacturing, grinding and welding

Cytotoxic effects of four types of welding fumes on macrophages in vitro: a comparative study.

Dusts in a steel-making plant. Lung contamination among iron workers.

Research on industrial ferrous metal aerosols