| Abstract |
Worker exposure to the benzene soluble fraction (BSF) of total particulate material (TPM), the BSF of vapor material, five polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and nuisance dust was determined at Chalmette Works (SIC-3334), Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation, Chalmette, Louisiana on April 6 and 7, 1978. The PAHs were chrysene (218019), pyrene (129000), fluoranthene (206440), benz(a)anthracene (56553) (BaA), and benzo(a)pyrene (50328) (BaP). Personal breathing zone and area samples were collected in the potroom and carbon facility. Several measurements of total dust exceeded the OSHA limit of 15 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/cu m) for total nuisance dust and 5mg/cu m for the respirable fraction. Exposure concentration ranges from potroom work groups were 3.80 to 6.40, 3.47 to 4.87, and 2.64 to 3.84 micrograms/cu m for chrysene, BaA, and BaP, respectively. Values for pyrene and fluoranthene for potroom workgroups were significantly less than those for the three other PAHs. In the carbon facility, exposure values for BSF of particulate matter were 0.42 and 0.44mg/cu m for batch and machine operators, respectively. The author notes that no occupational health standards for the five PAHs existed at the time of this report. |
