Paint Manufacturing Plant Research Articles

Analysis and design of paint manufacturing processes

In this paper, we consider the problem of selecting appropriate technologies and capacities for the design of paint manufacturing plants. A number of factors are considered, including cost-effectiveness, responsiveness to demands, and resilience to variability in the manufacturing process. These factors, along with the fact that there exist radically different paint manufacturing strategies, imply a complex decision-making process. We propose an approach based on an initial optimisation which uses an aggregate manufacturing representation to generate initial cost-effective and responsive alternatives, followed by a detailed analysis to study the resilience and flexibility characteristics of the most promising ones. These can then be combined to reach a decision on the best achievable compromise.

Vaporizing characteristics of mixed-solvents in indoor environment

Vapor pressure is usually used for predicting the phase-transfer of solvent. Combining it with molar ratio of component in liquid phase, airborne concentration of solvent is theoretically calculated. It's worthwhile to clarify if it is true in real environment. This study examines the vaporizing profile of xylol (commercial xylene) manipulation in a paint-manufacturing plant. Twelve workers equipped with 3M 3500 passive organic vapor monitors were sampled for 3 days. Solvents were analyzed by a gas chromatograph with flame ionization detector. According to the results, concentration ratio of airborne ethylbenzene and xylene is 0.384, though the ratio is 1.0 in the liquid phase and both solvents have similar vapor pressures. This finding suggests that predicting solvent's airborne concentration by liquid composition and vapor pressure may distort the air pollution profile. Moreover, high temperature increased airborne concentration significantly.

Breakthrough time of a respirator cartridge for carbon tetrachloride vapor flow of workers' respiratory patterns.

Breakthrough times of a commercially-available respirator cartridge packed with a small amount of activated carbon were determined by three different flow patterns: workers' respiratory patterns, conventional steady-state flows, and three standard patterns consisting of rectangle, sine, and triangle waves. A mechanical breathing simulator was used to reproduce the three standard wave patterns as well as the workers' respiratory patterns, which had been recorded from three workers of a paint manufacturing plant wearing a gas mask equipped with a respirator cartridge. The breakthrough test was carried out with 300 ppm carbon tetrachloride vapor at average flow rates of the respiratory and standard patterns equivalent to the steady-state flow rates. The breakthrough times determined by the workers' respiratory patterns were found to be shorter than those by a steady-state flow of the equivalent flow rate, and to be as short as those by sine and triangle wave patterns. It was considered that shorter breakthrough times in the workers' respiratory patterns could be attributed to a faster maximum inspiratory flow rate than that in the case of steady-state flow. The present results suggest that the passing time of CCl4 molecules through the thin activated carbon layer of respirator cartridge may be too short to attain an adsorption equilibrium.

Neuropsychological Assessment of Organic Solvent Effects in South Africa: Test Selection, Adaptation, Scoring, and Validation Issues

The neurobehavioral effects of organic solvent exposure were assessed in 68 South African workers in a paint manufacturing plant in which the maximum current combined solvent level in workplace air was 0.72 of the Threshold Limit Value. A 17-test battery was assembled from the WHO-NCTB, NES 2, and the University of South Africa Neuropsychological Assessment Procedure. Extensive modifications were made to some tests in the battery, using a guided learning rationale derived from the cross-cultural literature. In light of test correlations with demographic variables (age, education, and alcohol consumption), the construct and likely predictive validity of the tests in the battery are reviewed, and promising procedures identified. Finally, it is noted that in developing countries, the results of neuropsychological tests that have been well standardized in the West may be misleading unless the underlying validity issues that arise when a test developed in one culture is applied to another have been addressed.

A Cross-Sectional Survey of Neurobehavioral Effects of Chronic Solvent Exposure on Workers in a Paint Manufacturing Plant

Neurobehavioral impairments in 84 workers with long-term exposure to organic solvents in a paint manufacturing plant were examined cross sectionally. The World Health Organization (WHO) Neurobehavioral Core Test Battery, the NES-2 computerized battery, and four additional South African tests were used. Exposure to solvents was determined by using company industrial hygiene data as well as from an industrial hygiene survey of current total solvent levels in air. Indexes for cumulative exposure and average lifetime intensity of exposure were calculated for groups of homogeneously exposed workers in each department. Exposure levels were below the ACGIH threshold limit values. Multiple linear regression revealed that education level, age, and alcohol consumption were strong predictors for several neurobehavioral test scores. After adjusting for potential confounding from this source, average lifetime intensity of solvent exposure was the most significant predictor of the NES-2 Continuous performance test (measuring sustained visual attention) score of the WHO Digit span backward test score (measuring attention span and double tracking). Pursuit aiming (measuring fine visuomotor tracking speed) was significantly associated with the cumulative exposure index, possibly indicating early neurotoxic effects.

A QUANTITATIVE APPROACH TO THE CHARACTERIZATION OF CUMULATIVE AND AVERAGE SOLVENT EXPOSURE IN PAIN MANUFACTURING PLANTS

Previous reports have attributed a range of neurobehavioral effects to low-level, occupational solvent exposure. These studies have generally been limited in their exposure assessments and have specifically lacked good estimates of exposure intensity. In the present study, the authors describe the development of two exposure variables that quantitatively integrate industrial hygiene sampling data with estimates of exposure duration--a cumulative exposure (CE) estimate and a lifetime weighted average exposure (LWAE) estimate. Detailed occupational histories were obtained from 187 workers at two paint manufacturing plants. Historic industrial hygiene sampling data for total hydrocarbons (a composite variable of the major neurotoxic solvents present) were grouped according to 20 uniform, temporally stable exposure zones, which had been defined during plant walk-through surveys. Sampling at the time of the study was used to characterize the few zones for which historic data were limited or unavailable. For each participant, the geometric mean total hydrocarbon level for each exposure zone worked in was multiplied by the duration of employment in that zone; the resulting products were summed over the working lifetime to create the CE variable. The CE variable was divided by the total duration of employment in solvent-exposed jobs to create the LWAE variable. The explanatory value of each participant's LWAE estimate in the regression of simple visual reaction time (a neurobehavioral test previously shown to be affected by chronic solvent exposure) on exposure was compared with that of several other exposure variables, including exposure duration and an exposure variable based on an ordinal ranking of the exposure zones.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Dose-related subclinical neurobehavioral effects of chronic exposure to low levels of organic solvents.

One hundred eight-seven workers (mean age +/- SD; 42 +/- 8.8 years) in two paint manufacturing plants were examined to determine if sustained low-level exposure to mixed organic solvents resulted in the painters' syndrome (a psycho-organic syndrome). The test battery consisted of a medical and occupational questionnaire, the Present State Examination, the Zung Depression Scale, the Scandinavian Questionnaire 16, a neuropsychological battery, and vibration thresholds. Solvent exposure, expressed as total hydrocarbon of combined selected solvents, was quantitated using 13-15 years of personal breathing zone samplings. Linear regression analysis controlling for several confounding variables demonstrated significant correlations between increasing exposure to mixed organic solvents and neurobehavioral performance for vibration threshold and several neuropsychological tests. Dose-related effects of chronic solvent exposure on neurobehavioral outcomes (all subclinical) were shown, but "typical" symptoms characteristic of the painter's syndrome were not found.

Effects of Fetal-Protection Policies on Women Workers

Exclusionary work policies, known as fetal-protection policies, have a rationale and focus on women that is similar to those of the outlawed protective labor laws. These policies are prominent in male-dominated industries, such as chemical refineries, paint-manufacturing plants, and the auto industry. This article explores the relationship between these policies and the outlawed labor laws, examines the effects of these policies on the economic well-being of women, and suggests how occupational social workers and policymakers can broaden their focus to make the workplace safer for all workers.

Assessing color vision loss among solvent-exposed workers.

Acquired color vision loss has been associated with exposure to organic solvents in the workplace. However, not all tests of chromatic discrimination loss are designed to detect acquired, as opposed to congenital, loss. The Lanthony D-15 desaturated panel (D-15-d), a simple 15 cap color arrangement test, designed to identify mild acquired dyschromatopsia, can be administered rapidly in the field, under standard conditions. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the D-15-d among 23 solvent-exposed workers of a paint manufacturing plant, by comparing the results obtained with the D-15-d to those obtained with the Farnsworth-Munsell 100 Hue (FM-100), a highly sensitive measure of color vision loss. The D-15-d revealed a significantly higher prevalence of dyschromatopsia among the ten highly exposed workers (80%) as compared to the 13 moderately exposed workers (30.8%); FM-100 results revealed one false positive. All dyschromatopic workers presented blue-yellow loss; the FM-100 detected eight complex patterns, while the D-15-d identified 5. Comparison of D-15-d and FM-100 scores were highly correlated (corr. coeff. 0.87; p less than 0.001). Multiple regression analyses showed both scores to be significantly related to age and exposure level. The findings of this study indicate that the D-15-d is an adequate instrument for field study batteries. However, the FM-100 should be used for more detailed assessment.

Advanced plant for Silver Paint & Lacquer Co.

T.B.M.A. (U.K.) Ltd., developers of complete process systems for industry, have produced an advanced paint manufacturing plant for Silver Paint & Lacquer Co. of Batley, Yorkshire.