102 Insights from Workplace Exposure Campaigns During Metal 3D Printing Procedures with Portable Equipment to Monitor Ultrafine Particles Emissions

Abstract

Abstract Metal 3D printing is an emergent technology gaining much interest in a wide range of sectors, namely in the automotive and aeronautics sectors. This technology enables rapid prototyping, offering development of products with a remarkable time and cost reduction, and allows the creation of almost any shape, overcoming the difficulties of the conventional techniques. However, innovation always brings new risks and uncertainties about human exposure and hazards of the new materials, products, or by-products of the innovative technologies. It has been reported that from metal 3D printing procedures, volatile and non-volatile particles might be emitted, turning the people directly involved in the process and the other present in the facilities, potentially exposed to those emissions. Therefore, especial efforts must be imputed on risk assessments to particles emitted on occupational or domestic settings, from 3D printing activities. Addressing the exposure to airborne ultrafine particles during several metal 3D printing procedures, namely plasma metal deposition, wire arc additive manufacturing, wire-laser additive manufacturing and atmospheric pressure plasma deposition, this study evaluated the use of real-time portable equipment to characterise the exposure (in terms of number and size of particles). Different operating conditions were investigated, with different machines and materials. The airborne ultrafine particles emissions were characterised, and the efficiency of the implemented control measures was evaluated. Some limitations were found, and therefore as outcome from the study, some recommendations are proposed concerning the exposure mitigation and insights from the monitoring campaigns are provided.