Ld. Maxim et al., CARE - A EUROPEAN PROGRAM FOR MONITORING AND REDUCING REFRACTORY CERAMIC FIBER DUST AT THE WORKPLACE - INITIAL RESULTS, Gefahrstoffe, Reinhaltung der Luft, 58(3), 1998, pp. 97-103
The European Ceramic Fibre Industry Association (ECFIA) has undertaken
an extensive industrial hygiene programme for refractory ceramic fibr
es (RCF). The objectives are twofold: (i) to monitor workplace dust co
ncentrations at both manufacturers' and customers' premises, and (ii)
to document manufacturing and use of RCF products from an industrial h
ygiene perspective in order to establish appropriate recommendations t
o reduce exposures. Results pertaining to the first objective are pres
ented in this paper. This programme employs a sampling and analysis pr
otocol designed to produce data compatible with a similar monitoring p
rogramme undertaken in the United States. Nearly 700 workplace samples
(personal monitoring time weighted average (TWA) fibre concentrations
) were collected in the first year (1996 to 1997) of operation. Sample
s are taken from plants operated by ECFIA members (internal samples) a
nd those from their customers/end-users (external samples). The analys
es presented in this paper indicate that (i) approximately 50% of meas
ured TWA workplace concentrations are under 0.25 fibres/millilitre (f/
ml), 71% are under 0.5 f/ml, 84% are under 1 f/ml, and 94% are under 2
f/ml; (ii) workplace concentration data are approximately lognormally
distributed; (iii) there are significant differences between average
workplace concentrations at ECFIA facilities and those operated by cus
tomers/end-users; (iv) workplace concentrations vary with functional j
ob category (FJC); (v) significant plant-to-plant differences in avera
ge workplace concentrations exist - a possible basis for developing re
asonable benchmarks. These data will enable better identification of t
he sources of exposure to be controlled.