Dermal exposure and surface contamination associated with the use of a cobalt-chrome alloy during additive manufacturing.

IF 1.8 4区医学 Q3 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

Annals Of Work Exposures and Health Pub Date : 2025-06-30 DOI:10.1093/annweh/wxaf019

Lynicka Paulse, Sonette du Preez, Anja Franken, Johan du Plessis

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Amidst the rapidly emerging additive manufacturing (AM) industry, not enough attention has been given to dermal exposure, with only one previous study that assessed dermal exposure to metals. Our study aimed to characterise a cobalt (Co)-chrome (Cr) alloy feedstock powder (CO-538) in terms of particle size, shape, and elemental composition, and assess dermal exposure and workplace surface contamination during powder bed fusion AM.

Methods: Particle size distribution (PSD) and shape of the virgin and used feedstock powder were determined using static image and scanning electron microscopy analyses. The elemental composition of powders was established using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. A removal wipe sampling method using Ghostwipes was performed on AM operators' skin at various locations (index finger, palm, wrist, back of the hand, and neck), before and after each AM processing phase. Workplace surfaces (both AM and non-AM areas) were also sampled before and after each shift using a removal wipe method to measure surface contamination.

Results: PSD analysis revealed a significant difference (P ≤ 0.05) in median size, with used powder exhibiting smaller particles than virgin, where 10% of particles were smaller than the given diameter. Additionally, significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) were noted in the mean circularity and convexity between virgin and used powders, indicating that used powder particles were more irregular and rougher compared to virgin. The CO-538 feedstock powder contained Co, Cr, molybdenum (Mo), aluminium (Al), iron (Fe), and Ni. These metals were also detected on the skin of AM operators and on surfaces within the AM and non-AM areas of the facility. Dermal exposure occurred on all of the anatomical areas, with the highest total metal concentration detected on the index finger during the post-processing phase of AM. The highest full-shift geometric mean GM concentration of each metal was detected on the finger and followed a trend of Co > Cr > Fe > Al > Mo > Ni. Surface contamination occurred on all AM and non-AM sampling areas after a full shift.

Conclusions: Dermal exposure to all CO-538 alloy metal constituents occurred on all sampled anatomical areas during all three processing phases. Measurable concentrations of metals that were detected on all sampled surfaces indicate that cross-contamination between AM and non-AM areas occurs and that these surfaces may act as a secondary source of exposure. There is thus a need for control measures to be implemented in AM facilities to eliminate or reduce surface metal contamination and dermal exposure.

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增材制造过程中与使用钴铬合金相关的皮肤暴露和表面污染。

背景：在快速发展的增材制造（AM）行业中，对皮肤暴露的关注不够，之前只有一项研究评估了皮肤对金属的暴露。我们的研究旨在从粒度、形状和元素组成方面表征钴(Co)-铬（Cr）合金原料粉末（Co -538），并评估粉末床熔融AM过程中的皮肤暴露和工作场所表面污染。方法：采用静态图像和扫描电子显微镜分析方法，测定原粉和废粉的粒度分布和形状。采用电感耦合等离子体发射光谱法确定了粉末的元素组成。在每个AM处理阶段之前和之后，在AM操作人员的不同位置（食指、手掌、手腕、手背和颈部）上使用Ghostwipes去除擦拭取样方法。工作场所表面（AM和非AM区域）也在每班之前和之后使用去除擦拭方法取样，以测量表面污染。结果：PSD分析显示中位尺寸有显著差异（P≤0.05），使用过的粉末颗粒比未加工的小，其中10%的颗粒小于给定直径。此外，初磨粉与废磨粉的平均圆度和凹凸度差异有统计学意义（P≤0.05），说明废磨粉颗粒比初磨粉更不规则、更粗糙。Co -538原料粉含有Co、Cr、Mo、Al、Fe和Ni。在增材制造操作员的皮肤以及增材制造和非增材制造区域的表面上也检测到这些金属。皮肤暴露发生在所有解剖区域，在AM后处理阶段在食指检测到最高的总金属浓度。手指上检测到的各种金属GM的全位移几何平均浓度最高，并遵循Co > Cr > Fe > Al > Mo > Ni的趋势。在整个班次后，所有AM和非AM采样区域都发生了表面污染。结论：在所有三个加工阶段，所有取样解剖区域都发生了所有CO-538合金金属成分的皮肤暴露。在所有取样表面上检测到的可测量的金属浓度表明，AM和非AM区域之间发生了交叉污染，这些表面可能是二次暴露源。因此，需要在增材制造设施中实施控制措施，以消除或减少表面金属污染和皮肤接触。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Annals Of Work Exposures and Health Medicine-Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

CiteScore

4.60

自引率

19.20%

发文量

期刊介绍： About the Journal Annals of Work Exposures and Health is dedicated to presenting advances in exposure science supporting the recognition, quantification, and control of exposures at work, and epidemiological studies on their effects on human health and well-being. A key question we apply to submission is, "Is this paper going to help readers better understand, quantify, and control conditions at work that adversely or positively affect health and well-being?" We are interested in high quality scientific research addressing: the quantification of work exposures, including chemical, biological, physical, biomechanical, and psychosocial, and the elements of work organization giving rise to such exposures; the relationship between these exposures and the acute and chronic health consequences for those exposed and their families and communities; populations at special risk of work-related exposures including women, under-represented minorities, immigrants, and other vulnerable groups such as temporary, contingent and informal sector workers; the effectiveness of interventions addressing exposure and risk including production technologies, work process engineering, and personal protective systems; policies and management approaches to reduce risk and improve health and well-being among workers, their families or communities; methodologies and mechanisms that underlie the quantification and/or control of exposure and risk. There is heavy pressure on space in the journal, and the above interests mean that we do not usually publish papers that simply report local conditions without generalizable results. We are also unlikely to publish reports on human health and well-being without information on the work exposure characteristics giving rise to the effects. We particularly welcome contributions from scientists based in, or addressing conditions in, developing economies that fall within the above scope.