Occupational exposure to chrome VI compounds in French companies: results of a national campaign to measure exposure (2010-2013).
A campaign to measure exposure to hexavalent chromium compounds was carried out in France by the seven CARSAT chemistry laboratories, CRAMIF laboratory, and INRS over the 2010-2013 period. The survey included 99 companies involved in various activity sectors. The inhalable fraction of airborne particles was sampled, and exposure levels were determined using ion chromatography analysis combined with post-column derivatization and UV detection. The quality of the measurement results was guaranteed by an inter-laboratory comparison system involving all the laboratories participating in this study. Exposure levels frequently exceeded the French occupational exposure limit value (OELV) of 1 µg m(-3), in activities such as thermal metallization and manufacturing and application of paint in the aeronautics sector. The results also reveal a general trend for a greater proportion of soluble Chromium VI (Cr VI) compounds compared with insoluble compounds. Qualitative and quantitative information relating to the presence of other metallic compounds in the air of workplaces is also provided, for example for Cr III, Ni, Fe, etc. The sampling strategy used and the measurement method are easy to implement, making it possible to check occupational exposure with a view to comparing it to an 8 h-OELV of 1 µg m(-3).
1.Institut National de Recherche et de Sécurité (INRS), Vandoeuvre les Nancy, France raymond.vincent@inrs.fr.
Raymond
R
Vincent
2.Carsat Nord-Picardie, Lille, France.
Martine
M
Gillet
3.Carsat Nord-Est, Nancy, France.
Pierre
P
Goutet
4.Carsat Rhone-Alpes, Lyon, France.
Christine
C
Guichard
5.CRAMIF, Paris, France.
Catherine
C
Hédouin-Langlet
6.Carsat de Normandie, Rouen, France.
Anne Marie
AM
Frocaut
7.Carsat Aquitaine, Bordeaux, France.
Pierre
P
Lambert
8.Carsat des Pays de la Loire, Nantes, France.
Fabrice
F
Leray
9.Carsat Sud-Est, Marseille, France.
Patricia
P
Mardelle
1.Institut National de Recherche et de Sécurité (INRS), Vandoeuvre les Nancy, France.
Michel
M
Dorotte
1.Institut National de Recherche et de Sécurité (INRS), Vandoeuvre les Nancy, France.
Davy
D
Rousset
D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational / Q000032:analysis*; D002273:Carcinogens / Q000032:analysis; D002857:Chromium / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D019570:Inhalation Exposure / Q000032:analysis; D066192:Manufacturing Industry; D008452:Maximum Allowable Concentration; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D016272:Occupational Health; D010150:Paint; D020711:Threshold Limit Values; D017132:Workplace
D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D002273:Carcinogens; D002857:Chromium
France; assessment; exposure; hexavalent chromium