Exposure to cobalt in the welding process with stellite.
In some small factories producing moulds for ceramic tiles using a cobalt alloy (stellite), environmental and biological (CoU) monitoring was conducted for eight workers employed in gas-shielded arc (MAG) and oxy-acetylene welding processes. During oxy-acetylene braze-welding, the exposure to cobalt is very low as are urinary cobalt concentrations. On the other hand, during the MAG welding process, the exposure levels can exceed the TLV-TWA levels and correlated well with CoU at the end of a working shift. Two MAG welders followed for two consecutive weeks, showed different patterns of urinary cobalt excretion: under the same environmental conditions, the higher CoU was found in the worker with greater past exposure. This aspect needs further evaluation before adopting CoU as a current indicator of occupational exposure to the metal.
Ferri
F
F
Servizio di Medicina Preventiva ed Igiene del Lavoro, USL 12, Emilia, Italy.
Candela
S
S
Bedogni
L
L
Piccinini
R
R
Sala
O
O
D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational / Q000032:analysis / Q000652:urine; D002858:Chromium Alloys; D003035:Cobalt / Q000032:analysis* / Q000652:urine; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006801:Humans; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D013997:Time Factors; D014896:Welding / Q000379:methods*
D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D002858:Chromium Alloys; D003035:Cobalt