Hexavalent Chromium Exposure to Military Aircraft Painters
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Montana Tech Library Digital Commons @ Montana Tech Graduate Theses & Non-Theses Student Scholarship Summer 2017 Hexavalent Chromium Exposure to Military Aircraft ainP ters Doug Rosaaen Montana Tech Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.mtech.edu/grad_rsch Part of the Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene Commons Recommended Citation Rosaaen, Doug, "Hexavalent Chromium Exposure to Military Aircraft ainP ters" (2017). Graduate Theses & Non-Theses. 135. http://digitalcommons.mtech.edu/grad_rsch/135 This Non-Thesis Project is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at Digital Commons @ Montana Tech. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses & Non-Theses by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Montana Tech. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Hexavalent Chromium Exposure to Military Aircraft Painters by Doug Rosaaen A report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Industrial Hygiene Distance Learning / Professional Track Montana Tech of the University of Montana 2017 1 Abstract Military aircraft routinely operate in harsh, corrosive environments that necessitate aggressive maintenance methods and products to prevent deterioration. Three primary tasks associated with corrosion control of these aircraft are abrasive blasting, sanding, and primer paint application. The most frequently used primer paints for these applications contain chromium VI (Cr VI) in the form of barium chromate and strontium chromate. Due to aircraft size and the nature of these tasks, control of Cr VI exposures is often difficult. Numerous studies of chromate related industries have identified worker exposures in excess of the OSHA PEL of 5 µg/m3. Long-term analysis of chromate workers with known Cr VI exposures levels have shown elevated risk of mortality due to lung cancer. These evaluations highlight the importance of multi-layered control systems to reduce Cr VI exposure levels. This goal of this study was to investigate occupational inhalation exposures to Cr VI during worker performed tasks for corrosion control for military aircraft. Sample results for three primary tasks, abrasive blasting, sanding, and primer (paint) application, were obtained at a major military aircraft maintnance facility. These results were evaluated to determine if the exposure distribution allowed for establishment of Similar Exposure Groups (SEGs) within the department. The results of this study found Cr VI exposures above the OSHA PEL occurred in each task, but that the mean exposures of each task were not significantly different. A high degree of variability was observed in the overall sample set and the individual tasks. Statistical analysis of the obtained data failed to justify separating the sampled tasks into separate SEGs. Despite these findings, a high probability of overexposure exists to workers at this facility regardless of the task conducted. Keywords: hexavalent, chromium VI, military, aircraft, corrosion 2 Dedication I would like to thank my wife and daughters for their understanding, assistance, and love that made this degree possible. Thank you also to my dad for his constant encouragement and my mom for her support and masterful copy editing skills. 3 Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge the civilian staff and military personnel who assisted in my research and this evaluation. 4 Table of contents ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................................... 1 DEDICATION ....................................................................................................................................... 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................................................................................................ 3 LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................... 6 LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................................. 7 LIST OF EQUATIONS ............................................................................................................................ 8 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 9 2. BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................... 11 2.1. Acute and Chronic Toxicity ................................................................................................ 11 2.2. Factors Influencing Toxicity ............................................................................................... 11 2.3. Biotransformation ............................................................................................................. 12 2.4. Affected Organs ................................................................................................................. 13 2.5. Dose Response Relationships ............................................................................................ 15 2.6. Storage and Excretion ....................................................................................................... 17 2.7. Treatment and Therapy ..................................................................................................... 18 2.8. Regulatory Efforts .............................................................................................................. 19 2.9. High Risk Groups................................................................................................................ 21 2.10. Report Objectives .............................................................................................................. 22 3. METHODS AND MEASUREMENT ........................................................................................................... 23 3.1. Sampling Demographic ..................................................................................................... 23 3.2. Process Description and Existing Controls ......................................................................... 23 3.3. Sampling Method and Equipment ..................................................................................... 28 3.4. Data Analysis ..................................................................................................................... 29 3.5. Limitations of Experiment ................................................................................................. 30 5 4. RESULTS .......................................................................................................................................... 30 4.1. Overall ............................................................................................................................... 30 4.2. Abrasive Blasting ............................................................................................................... 33 4.3. Sanding .............................................................................................................................. 34 4.4. Primer Application ............................................................................................................. 35 5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................... 36 6. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH ....................................................................................... 38 REFERENCES CITED ............................................................................................................................ 39 APPENDIX A: IHSTAT ANALYSIS .......................................................................................................... 41 APPENDIX B: SAFETY DATA SHEETS AND TUKEY ANALYSIS .................................................................. 46 6 List of Tables Table I: Regulatory Standards, Recommendation, and Guidelines for Cr VI Exposure ...20 Table II: Carcinogenicity Classifications for Cr VI Exposure...........................................20 Table III: Abrasive Blasting Sample Results .....................................................................33 Table IV: Sanding Sample Results ....................................................................................34 Table V: Primer Application Sample Results ....................................................................35 7 List of Figures Figure 1: Abrasive Blasting Walk-In Booth ......................................................................24 Figure 2: Abrasive Blast Booth Control System................................................................24 Figure 3: Abrasive Blast Media Reclamation System .......................................................25 Figure 4: Sanding/Painting Bay .........................................................................................26 Figure 5: Sanding/Paint Bay Ventilation Modes ...............................................................26 Figure 6: Sanding/Paint Bay Exhaust Ventilation .............................................................27 Figure 7: - Sequential Data Plot with Individual Task Annotation ...................................31 8 List of Equations Equation 1 - 8 hour TWA Calculation ...............................................................................29