The Hygienic Monitoring of Working Area and Estimation of Exposure Chemical Loads in the Modern Aluminum Production


Annotation:

The Russian aluminum industry occupies a priority position among non-ferrous metallurgy industries. At the same time, the features of aluminum electrolysis technology using fluoride compounds and various salt additives in the melt contribute to the formation of unfavorable working conditions, characterized by the impact of a complex gas-aerosol mixture of toxicants and elevated levels of physical factors on workers. Despite the constant technical modernization of aluminum production, this industry still belongs to the category of increased danger to the health of workers according to hygienic criteria. The purpose of these studies was a comparative hygienic assessment of air pollution of the working area with toxicants and calculations of exposure chemical loads for workers in the production of aluminum, taking into account the technical modernization of production. It is shown that the main priority chemicals that pollute the air of the working area of the electrolysis shops of aluminum production are fluoride compounds (hydrofluoride, fluorides, fluorine-containing dust of complex chemical composition), and resin fumes. Long-term monitoring of the content of these toxicants in the air of the working area and calculations of exposure chemical loads using traditional technology with self-igniting anodes showed a stable excess of the hygienic standards of these substances in the air of the working area. It is established that the upgraded technology of aluminum electrolysis with the use of more powerful electrolysers and pre-baked anode technology, significantly reduced (1.5–9 times) the concentration of harmful substances in the air of working area, with the exception of hydrofluoride, the level of which did not depend on the technology used, still exceeding the hygienic standards on average by 1.7–3.0 times, while the AHN indicators remained above the calculated allowable by 1.8–2.9 times. To radically reduce the concentrations of harmful chemical compounds in the air of the working area, further technical improvement of production is required, which requires the joint efforts of engineers, technologists, specialists in occupational health and safety.

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DOI: 10.24000/0409-2961-2020-9-50-56
Year: 2020
Issue num: September
Keywords : aluminum production hygienic monitoring toxicants working area air exposure chemical loads
Authors:
  • Meshchakova N.M.
    Dr. Sci. (Med.), Assoc. Prof., Senior Research Assistant, nina.meschakova@yandex.ru East-Siberian Institute of Medical and Environmental Research, Angarsk, Russia
  • Shayakhmetov S.F.
    Dr. Sci. (Med.), Prof. East-Siberian Institute of Medical and Environmental Research, Angarsk, Russia
  • Merinov A.V.
    Junior Researcher East-Siberian Institute of Medical and Environmental Research, Angarsk, Russia
  • Lisetskaya L.G.
    Cand. Sci. (Biol.), Research Associate East-Siberian Institute of Medical and Environmental Research, Angarsk, Russia