INDUSTRIAL-HYGIENE MEASUREMENTS IN A NEW INDUSTRY - THE REPULPING ANDDEINKING OF PAPER WASTE

Six Danish paper recycling plants were included in art assessment of e xposure to chemicals. A questionnaire on processes was completed and i n-plant industrial hygiene measurement data collected 1982-1994 were e xamined. The assessment of chemicals did not reveal a major use of pos sible carcinogens, but acrylamide may have been released in the work e nvironment in one plant. A total of 197 hygiene measurements were reco rded: 126 in the largest plant. Airborne concentrations of dust, micro organisms, and endotoxins varied widely between plants. High concentra tions of dust were recorded in the paper machine area in one plant and in the repulping unit in another plant. In general, endotoxin levels were low, but endotoxin levels were increased in one plant when reuse of process water was intensified Changes in procedures should be asses sed by industrial hygiene measurements. (C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.