Paint Factory Research Articles

Jotun opens new paint factory in China

Jotun opens new paint factory in China

バッテリーと塗料工場における無機鉛曝露 : ヒトの精子の形態と機能に対する影響

Lead is one of the industrially important heavy metals that causes male reproductive impairment among battery and paint factory workers, but information on the structure-function integrity of human spermatozoa is still limited. Therefore, it was necessary to investigate the effect of lead on sperm structure and functional activity in these workers. Oligozoospermia with concomitant lowering of sperm protein and nucleic acid content and the percentage of sperm DNA hyploidy (P <0.001) suggested the diminution of sperm cell production after occupational lead exposure. Low sperm vitality and hypoosmotic swelling percentage along with high malondialdehyde content and altered seminal plasma ascorbate level (P<0.001) indicating damage of sperm cell surface, might be due to high membrane lipid peroxidation and failure of non-enzymatic antioxidant protection after lead exposure. Alteration of sperm membrane surface was also evidenced from scanning electron microscopy and further authenticated by atomic and lateral force microscopy. Lowering of sperm velocity, gross and forward progressive motility with high stationary motile spermatozoa (P<0.001) suggested retarded sperm activity among the exposed workers, which was supported by high seminal plasma fructose level and reduced activity of sperm ATPase (P < 0.001). Increased incidence of teratozoospermia was also associated with high blood and semen lead level (PbB, PbS) (P<0.001). Therefore, the results suggested that lead not only affects the sperm count, but also damages the sperm structure and membrane integrity, motility and functional activity among the battery and paint factory workers.

Assessment of PCBs and PCDD/Fs Along the Chinese Bohai Sea Coastline Using Mollusks as Bioindicators

Mollusk samples such as bivalves and gastropods were collected from eight sampling sites along Bohai Sea coastline from northeastern China. The samples were analyzed for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) by high-resolution gas chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC-HRMS) to elucidate bioaccumulation of persistent organic pollutants in benthon. Residue levels of sigmaPCBs and sigmaPCDD/Fs were in the ranges of 66.1 to 583.6 ng/g and 0.9 to 15317 pg/g on a lipid-weight basis, respectively, The pollution source was identified using principal component analysis (PCA) in some coastal areas. It indicated that the typical pollution sources were characterized by PCB3, which was one Chinese technical product of PCBs. PCA also revealed the similarity patterns of PCBs between identical species collected from the different sites. The higher gastropod PCB concentrations were related to a former capacitor factory and the paint factories in some coastal areas, but this was not the case with the bivalves. The results of this study suggest that some gastropod species may be a potential bioindicator or "sentinel" organism for marine PCBs monitoring.

Three Egyptian industrial wastewater management programmes

A pre-treatment programme for wastewater from factories, representing three main industrial sectors in Egypt, has been developed. The first case study was a factory producing potato-chips. Wastewater discharged from this factory was characterized by high values of BOD, SS and oil and grease (6000 mgO2 l−1, 6577 mg l−1 and 119 mg l−1 respectively). Chemical treatment using lime and lime aided by polyelectrolyte achieved good results. Residual values of BOD and SS after treatment were 97 mg l−1 and 49 mg l−1, respectively. Oil and grease concentrations were reduced by 91 percent. Treatment via activated sludge at a detention time of 4 hrs produced good quality effluent. The second case study was an automobile company, representing the metal finishing industry. Analyses of wastewater samples from the degreasing, phosphating and painting departments, as well as the end-of-pipe effluent were conducted. The end-of-pipe effluent contained high concentrations of oil and grease (366 mg l−1), phosphorous (111 mg l−1) and zinc (81 mg l−1). Chemical treatment of end-of-pipe wastewater using ferric chloride aided by lime, produced high quality effluent. The third sector was the chemical industry. For this purpose a paint factory was selected. Characteristics of raw wastewater varied widely according to the production rate. Average values of COD and BOD were 1950 mg l−1 and 683 mg l−1. Oil and grease ranged from 63 to 1624 mg l−1. Chemical treatment using ferric chloride in combination with lime at the optimum operating conditions achieved good results. Residual values after treatment of COD, BOD and oil and grease reached 120, 36 and 8.6 mg l−1, respectively. An engineering design for each case study has been prepared.

Inventory Ratio Based Production Switching Heuristic (RPSH) for the Aggregate Production Planning Problem

The production switching heuristic (PSH) is a viable and effective solution method for the aggregate production planning problem in industries where production is restricted to discrete levels. In most industries, the inventory turnover ratio is one of the most important measures in evaluating the appropriateness of inventory asset. This paper proposes an inventory ratio based PSH to integrate this industrial practices into the switching mechanism of the PSH. The proposed heuristic has a unique property in that the decision about changing the production rate in a period is made differently in accordance with the next period's demand forecasted. The effectiveness of the proposed heuristic is investigated with several well-known problems including the paint factory problem. The total costs of the proposed heuristic are compared with those of the linear decision rule and the linear program model as well as the PSH in quadratic and linear cost function cases. The results show that the proposed rule outperforms the PSH in most tests, especially when the demand variability is significant.

Distribution of catabolic pathways in some hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria from a subsurface polluted soil

Enrichment cultures on naphtha solvent were used to select aromatic hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria from a BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene)-contaminated subsoil obtained from beneath a paint factory located in Milan, Italy. Fifteen isolated strains were studied for their different biodegradative capacities. Among these, 13 were able to grow on naphtha solvent. Ten were identified as Pseudomonas putida and three as Pseudomonas aureofaciens. Two other degraders were identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Alcaligenes xylosoxidans subsp. denitrificans. Further molecular characterization of the isolates was carried out by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA analysis to ascertain that all the studied strains belonged to different haplotypes. The isolates were characterized for the presence of genes encoding for toluene dioxygenase, xylene monooxygenase and catechol 2,3-dioxygenase by polymerase chain reaction analysis and by Southern analysis. P. putida strain CM23, which showed homology with xylA,M, xylE and todC1C2BA genes, possessed multiple pathways which enabled the strain to grow on benzene, toluene and m-xylene.

Applicability of homogeneous exposure groups for exposure assessment in the chemical industry.

The purpose of the study was to assess occupational exposure to chemicals, by taking the aspects presented in European standard EN 689 into account, especially with respect to homogeneous exposure groups and their suitability as the basis for exposure assessment. In addition, dermal exposure to chemicals was assessed when appropriate. The industries studied included a plywood factory, a paint factory and a sewage treatment plant of an oil refinery. The workers were classified into homogeneous exposure groups by the persons in charge of occupational health issues in the respective workplaces. The concentrations of the contaminants were measured in workplace air by breathing-zone and stationary sampling, and these approaches were compared. Dermal exposure was measured when applicable. The homogeneity of the grouping was tested with analysis of variance whenever possible. The tasks studied in plywood manufacturing fulfilled the criteria of homogeneous exposure groups for both respiratory and dermal exposure. The group of operators in the sewage treatment plant was highly homogeneous. The complicated organization of the tasks made the use of homogeneous exposure groups (HEG) unsuitable at the paint factory. These findings show that reliable exposure assessment cannot be achieved with a formal standard; instead, comprehensive occupational hygiene evaluation is needed. It should also have a great importance when exposure models are developed.

Site-Specific A Priori Cancer Risk Estimator for Mixtures and Multiple Sources: Net Excess Relative Odds

An essential requirement for effective cancer prevention, cancer surveillance, and cancer hot-spot analysis is the ability to evaluate cancer site-specific environmental risk factors associated with the operation of multiple industrial point sources and plumes as mixtures. Here we describe a methodology to make a priori estimates of environmental risk factors for minimal exposure by linking an inventory of releases associated with one of 60 standard industrial codes with an inventory of cancer risks associated with minimal occupational exposure to the same chemical releases. We show that an estimate of the risk of developing one of 10 cancers from living within 5 km of a pulp mill, a refinery, a wood treating plant, a chlorine generator, and a paint factory within a community of 36 000 is easily conducted with net excess relative odds (NERO). While this work is confined to cancer risk, the approach outlined can be expanded to estimate outcomes as diverse from cardiovascular disease to spontaneous abortion. This is the second in a series reexamining environmental risk factors using retrospective exposure assessment with emission inventories.

Leaching characteristics of glassy waste forms containing two different incineration ashes

Several glassy waste forms are fabricated from two different incineration ashes, respectively, at different mixing ratios of ashes to base glass. Incineration ashes used in the experiments are hazardous waste (HW) incineration ash from a paint factory and simulated radioactive waste (RW) incineration ash from a nuclear power plant. To assess the chemical durability, which is known to be the most important factor in the waste form integrity, of glassy waste forms, long-term leaching tests such as MCC-4S (for HW glassy waste form) and ISO (for RW glassy waste form) methods were conducted at 70°C for over 500 days. By observing the initial leach ratio of glass components, it was found that silicon and calcium uniformly leached out after the early leaching of sodium and boron. For sodium and boron, diffusion is a dominant leaching mechanism, while dissolution associated with diffusion affects the leaching of silicon and calcium. Like glass constituents, leaching characteristics of hazardous metals and surrogate nuclides are also dependent upon solubility.

Bioventing of hydrocarbon ‐ contaminated soil and biofiltration of the off ‐ gas: Results of a field scaleinvestigation

Bioremediation through venting, biodegradation and biofiltration was considered to be a feasible approach to remediate a hydrocarbon‐contaminated soil from a site underneath a paint factory. Before the field‐scale treatment process was designed, a microbial enumeration study was performed to estabilish the existence of an indigenous population of microorganisms capable of degrading naphtha in the impacted soil. A significant remediation of a limited area contaminated with approximately 100 Kg of naphtha, toluene and xylenes was achieved in a 2 month treatment in which the soil was remediated to conform with local soil quality regulations. The bulk of soil removal of contaminants was achieved by vapour extraction (about 70 kg). Biodegradation also provided a significant contaminant removal (about 18 Kg). The hydrocarbons removed from the vent system were successfully biofiltered and outlet gas stream concentrations were acceptable under Italian national law. The biodegradative capacity of a mixed culture of microorganisms selectively isolated from the soil was tested in vial culture experiments. After 1 day of incubation, four of the seven most important naphtha components were completely degraded; the remaining constituents were slowly degraded.

Contact dermatitis caused by triglycidyl isocyanurate

A case of a 31-year-old color paint factory worker who developed contact dermatitis of the face and forearms on exposure to triglycidyl isocyanurate is reported. Patch testing showed a positive allergic reaction to only 5% triglycidyl isocyanurate in methyl ethyl ketone. A face mask that had not been regularly cleaned probably promoted the patient's sensitization by its occlusive effect.

Radar Observations of a Major Industrial Fire

Abstract On 23 May 1996, a Montreal suburban paint factory containing several hundred thousand gallons of paints, solvents, and other chemicals burned to the ground in a spectacular fire. The smoke plume from the fire was readily detected by three radars operated by McGill University for routine observations of the atmosphere. An S-band (10-cm wavelength) scanning radar provided a plan view of the plume from the time of its initial appearance over the plant until the fire was finally extinguished. These data reveal the history of the plume, showing how it meandered and spread as it was advected downwind. The plume passed directly over the site of two vertically pointing radars, one a high-resolution X-band radar (3-cm wavelength) and the other a UHF (33-cm wavelength) wind profiler. Doppler spectra of the smoke echoes in the vertical beam of the profiler indicated predominantly downward velocities, but it was not possible to distinguish in the spectra between scattering by settling particles and scatterin...

Determination of Trace Elements in Hair Specimens of Workers in Paint Factory.

The focal study was made on the determination trace elements contained in human hair of workers in paint factory, including chromium, iron, lead, and manganese. The hair sample was pretreated with organic solvent and by microwave digestion before their trace metals were measured with Graphite Furnace System Atomic absorption spectrophotometers. The result showed that total Pb, Mn and Iron levels in hair of workers in paint factory were significantly different from those in normal control subjects (P 0.05). The possible connection of these elements with the etiology of the worker is discussed.

Decomposition of Ketones in Water by Ozone Treatment and UV Irradiation.

There is a possibility that aliphatic ketones are contained in waste from chemical laboratories, painting factories and so on. Therefore, the polluted water must be treated in order to remove them. In this report each 5 mM ketone in the 0.05 M phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) was treated by ozone alone, UV irradiation alone or ozone + UV irradiation, and their degradation pathways were investigated from the decomposition products. Sample ketones were very rapidly decomposed by ozone + UV, and the main pathway was considered to have released a longer side-chain prior to the other shorter chain. Released alkyl chains were oxidized to aldehydes and fatty acids, and they were decomposed according to each decomposition pathway. The other pathway was production of keto acids by oxidation at the terminal methyl group. Ketones themselves were decomposed slowly by ozone alone, but decomposition by UV alone occurred more rapidly than by ozone alone. The reason was considered ketones have UV absorption about 254 nm which is the irradiation wavelength of a low pressure mercury lamp. The ketones having a longer side-chain were decomposed faster than a short side-chain like acetone. But total organic carbon (TOC) removal (%) was lowered in ketones having side-chains of larger carbon numbers.

Growth stimulation of Triticum aestivum seedlings under Cr-stresses by non-rhizospheric pseudomonad strains

Four chromium-resistant non-rhizospheric strains SPCr-1, SPCr-2, SPCr-3 and SPCr-4 (Pseudomonads), which were isolated from the effluents of an ICI paint factory and could tolerate 2–3 mg ml−1 chromium in a minimal medium and 40 mg ml−1 in a rich medium, were used to inoculate seeds of Triticum aestivum. Both inoculated and non-inoculated seeds were germinated and grown under different concentrations of chromium salts (K2CrO4, 0, 100, 250, 500; CrCl3, 0, 250, 500, 1000 μg ml−1). Germination and growth parameters were severely affected by chromium-salts. K2CrO4 had more drastic effects than CrCl3 treatments. Seedlings had a hard and brittle texture and showed symptoms of hypertrophy. Brown spots on leaves and stems were visible and the tips of leaves were bifurcated and curled. The root system was also impaired, ranging from a browning of the tip to complete destruction of cortical tissues. Under chromium-stress conditions, inoculated plants had significantly better germination and growth as compared to non-inoculated treatments. Bacterial growth enhancement of seedlings was associated with reduced chromium-uptake, increased auxin content and the formation of stress specific proteins. With bacterial inoculations, symptoms of chromium toxicity were reversed, especially at lower concentrations of chromium salts.

An improved version of the production switching heuristic for the aggregate production planning problem

The production switching heuristic (PSH) is recognized as an effective solution method for the aggregate production planning problem in industries where production is limited to discrete levels. However, we find that the PSH is not sufficiently responsive to demand fluctuation and tends to make belated decisions. This shortcoming stems mainly from the switching mechanism. This paper proposes an improved version of the PSH. The heuristic uses an improved switching mechanism which can be shown to dominate the PSH. The effectiveness of the proposed heuristic is investigated with several well known problems including the paint factory problem. The results are compared with those of the linear decision rule and the linear programming model as well as the PSH.

Occupational allergic contact dermatitis caused by epoxy diacrylate in ultraviolet‐light‐cured paint, and bisphenol A in dental composite resin

Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) caused by epoxy di(meth)acrylates or bisphenol A is rare. Here 2 such cases are reported. A dental assistant had allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) caused by bisphenol A contained in dental composite resin (DCR) products based on epoxy dimethacrylate. The contact allergy was verified by allergic patch test reactions to bisphenol A and 2 DCRs. The DCRs giving allergic reactions were analyzed, and 0.014-0.015% of bisphenol A was detected. Occupational ACD caused by bisphenol A in dental composite resins has not been described before. The other patient was a male process worker in a paint factory. He was sensitized by an epoxy diacrylate, 2,2-bis[4-(2-hydroxy-3-acryloxypropoxy)phenyl]-propane (BIS-GA), and other acrylate compounds contained in raw materials of ultraviolet-light-curable paint. The epoxy diacrylate gave an allergic patch test reaction down to 0.016% in pet. He also had an allergic patch test reaction to several other acrylate compounds, 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate, 2-hydroxypropyl acrylate, 1,4-butanediol diacrylate, 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate, diethyleneglycol diacrylate, triethylene glycol diacrylate, and tripropylene glycol diacrylate, indicating cross and/or concomitant sensitization.

Modified production switching heuristics for aggregate production planning

The Production Switching Heuristic (PSH) developed by Mellichamp and Love [ Management Science 24, 1242–1251] has been suggested as a more realistic, practical and intuitively appealing approach to aggregate production planning (APP). In this paper, the PSH has been modified to present a more sophisticated open grid search procedure for solving the APP problem. The effectiveness of this approach has been demonstrated by determining a near-optimal solution to the classic paint factory problem using a personal computer based application written in THINK PASCAL. The performance of the modified production switching heuristics is then compared in the context of the paint factory problem with results obtained by other prominent APP models including the linear decision rule, parametric production planning, and PSH to conclude that the modified PSH offers a better minimum cost solution than the original PSH model.

Contact sensitivity among workers in a paint factory.

Contact sensitivity among workers in a paint factory.

The environmental impact of a chloro-alkali factory in a river basin in Eastern India

It has been established that the electrodes of the dialyser in a chloro-alkali plant in Eastern India release mercury beyond the permissible limits into the River Koel. Mercury in elemental form, as well as certain organo-mercury compounds, including methyl mercury, have been detected at a distance of 25 km from the discharge point. Even at a distance of 5–10 km, the mercury content of the sediment may be as high as 0.6–3.2 mg kg−1 above the value of sediment upstream of the plant. This sediment itself is contaminated, probably by battery and paint factories, etc., still further upstream. Thus, the chloro-alkali factory has contributed 60–320 times above the permissible limit (0.01 mg kg−1) of mercury release, at a distance of 5–10 km from the point of release. Furthermore, various phytoplankton and zooplankton have been contaminated, leading to very high mercury contents in certain fish. This food chain, therefore, threatens man himself.