A dermal model for spray painters. Part i: Subjective exposure modelling of spray paint deposition

The discriminative power of existing dermal exposure models is limited, Mos t models only allow occupational hygienists to rank workers between and wit hin workplaces according to broad bands of dermal exposure. No allowance is made for the work practices of different individuals. In this study a proc ess-based, structured approach has been used to estimate dermal exposure fr om overspray generated by a spray painting process. Factors for spray techn ique, object shape and workers' individual work practices involved in the p rocesses of droplet formation and deposition were incorporated into the mod el. The model was applied to predict dermal exposure of airless spray paint ers and the results were compared with exposure data. The predicted levels of exposure showed reasonable rank correlation with the measured exposure, although the model tended to over-predict the actual Level of exposure. It was concluded that a structured, process-based approach has the potential t o produce reliable estimates of dermal exposure. The reliability of exposur e models of this type should be explored further and the relationship betwe en the determinants of exposure should be validated by additional field stu dies. (C) 2001 British Occupational Hygiene Society. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.