Respirable/Total Dust and Silica Content in Personal Air Samples in a Nonferrous Foundry

Abstract

Abstract The aims of this study in a nonferrous foundry were to determine if the silica content was identical when simultaneous area total and respirable dust air sampling was conducted; to define the relationship between personal respirable and total dust concentrations on the same person; and to assess if these relationships changed with job descriptions where silica exposures were likely. Respirable dust air samples in the shakeout and core-knockout areas mostly showed enrichment in silica content relative to total dust air samples obtained simultaneously in the same area. The fraction of respirable dust relative to total dust in the air in personal samples increased for the following job descriptions: basement reclamation (4.4%) < molding (14%) ≤ core-knockout (18%) ≤ shakeout (23%). Absolute levels of respirable dust in the air were about the same over all work areas in spite of much higher total dust concentrations in the basement reclamation area. The silica content of bulk samples did not predict ...