Dermal exposure to chromium in electroplating.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of the study was to measure the dermal and respiratory exposure levels of hexavalent chromium during electroplating work.


METHODS
Potential dermal exposure of the body was measured with patch samples and actual exposure of hands with hand-wash samples. For comparison, personal air samples were also collected.


RESULTS
The exposure varied widely between workers. The range of body and hand exposure to the electroplating solution was 0.17-28.1 mg/h and 0.04-6.37 mg/h, respectively. Hands and lower limbs were the most contaminated body parts.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of breathing zone samples and dermal exposure did not correlate with each other. In manual electroplating processes, dermal exposure was higher than in semi-automatic and automatic processes. The amount of hexavalent chromium the workers were exposed to is probably high enough to cause a risk of skin sensitization.
Mäkinen
Milja
M
Kuopio Regional Institute of Occupational Health, PO Box 93, FIN-70701 Kuopio, Finland. milja.makinen@ttl.fi
Linnainmaa
Markku
M
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001331:Automation; D002857:Chromium / Q000032:analysis*; D004595:Electroplating; D006225:Hand; D006235:Hand Disinfection; D006801:Humans; D019570:Inhalation Exposure / Q000032:analysis; D007866:Leg; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D010328:Patch Tests / Q000379:methods; D012867:Skin
D002857:Chromium