Abstract

Exposure to lead-containing dusts is a global public health concern. This work addresses an important issue of whether eco-friendly water-based paints reduce the exposure potential of auto-repainting workers to metals. With this aim, metal levels in automobile paints and worker metal exposure were measured using both solvent- and water-based paints. The levels of metals, and particularly Pb, Cr (total), Fe, and Cu, in solvent-based paints varied greatly among colors and brands. Lead concentrations ranged from below the detection limit (~0.25 μg/g) to 107,928 μg/g (dry film) across all samples. In water-based paints, the concentrations of Pb and Cr (total) were generally two to three orders of magnitude lower, but the concentrations of Al and Cu exceeded those in some solvent-based paints. The personal short-term exposure of workers who applied water-based paints of popular colors, such as black and white, were generally low, with Pb levels of less than <4 µg/m3 and Cr (total) levels of less than 1 µg/m3. Conversely, mean short-term exposure to Pb during the painting of a yellow cab using solvent-based paints were 2028 µg/m3, which was ~14 times the Taiwan short-term permissible exposure limit, while the mean level of exposure to Cr (total) was 290 µg/m3, which was well below the exposure limit. This study demonstrates that water-based paints reduce the exposure potential to lead, and highlights the importance of source control in limiting the toxic metals in paints.

Highlights

  • The fixing/replacing of automobile body parts typically requires re-painting, which is referred to as refinish painting

  • Exposure to lead-containing dusts in the workplace is an occupational hazard, but can be a public health concern owing to potential take-home exposure pathway, and should be minimized

  • The current measurements demonstrate that the levels of toxic metals, Pb, in some solvent-based paints can be extremely hazardous, while those in water-based paints are generally two to three orders of magnitude lower than in solvent-based paints, especially red and yellow paints

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Summary

Introduction

The fixing/replacing of automobile body parts typically requires re-painting, which is referred to as refinish painting. Refinishing differs from primary coatings that are used in car manufacturing with respect to its binders, solvents, and baking temperature [1,2]. Workers in auto-body repair shops are potentially exposed to various chemical, physical, ergonomic, sociological, and safety hazards [3,4,5]. Paint is a suspension of finely divided pigment particles in a liquid that is composed of a binder (resin) and a volatile solvent (or water), and normally contains additives that impart special characteristics [6]. L.M.; Moradi, T.; Gridley, G.; Plato, N.; Dosemeci, M.; Fraumeni, J.F., Jr. Exposures in the painting trades and paint manufacturing industry and risk of cancer among men and women in Sweden.

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