Particle and aerosol research (한국입자에어로졸학회지)

Korean Association for Particle and Aerosol Research (한국입자에어로졸학회)
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Occupational exposure to dust and respirable quartz in coal briquettes ash handling worker

연탄재 처리 환경미화원의 분진 및 호흡성 석영 노출

  • Kim, Boowook (Institute of Occupation and Environment, Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service)
  • 김부욱 (근로복지공단 직업환경연구원)
  • Received : 2021.01.07
  • Accepted : 2021.03.16
  • Published : 2021.03.31
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Abstract

The purpose of this study is to assess respirable crystalline silica (RCS) exposure levels in workers who collect and dispose used coal briquette ash (CBA) in sanitation companies that are subcontracted by one medium-sized local government on the collection of municipal household waste (MHW), and to analyze the quartz content in CBA. When the CBA powder that undergone specialized pretreatment in several steps were subjected to mineral identification and quantitative analysis using X-ray diffraction (XRD), it was found that quartz represented 18%, and in addition, mullite, and plagioclase were included. For two CBA collectors, samples were collected by the personal sampling evaluation method. After respirable dust was collected in accordance with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 7500 method, the concentration of quartz was analyzed using XRD. Meanwhile, a portable real-time dust monitor (Sidepak AM520, TSI Inc., USA) was also used to observe the dust exposure level for each time zone and job task. The RCS exposure level of one worker was as high as 0.024 mg/㎥, which was the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) Threshold Limit Values (TLV) level. The other worker also exhibited a concentration of 0.013 mg/㎥, which was more than half of TLV. The Sidepak results revealed that the work of collecting CBA and loading it onto a vehicle was hardly exposed to the dust of a significant level. It was found, however, that the work of transferring the collected CBA to a container through a conveyor belt was exposed to a very high average respirable dust concentration of 2.238 mg/㎥. The results of this study confirmed that quartz, which is crystalline silica and a carcinogen, is contained in CBA, one of municipal household waste (MHW), in high concentration. It was also confirmed that workers are exposed to high RCS concentrations while transferring collected CBA into a container. Although each local government in South Korea handles CBA in different ways, it is imperative to investigate the CBA exposure level of sanitation workers and improve their working conditions.

Keywords

References

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