assessment of occupational exposure to aluminum respirable aerosols among aluminum foundry workers

backgrounds and aims: aluminum and in particular its compounds make up a large proportion of the pollutants coming from the aluminum foundry. in several studies conducted on the harmful effects of aluminum in recent decades, it has been identified as a neurotoxic metal. chronic occupational exposure through inhalation of dust is a common problem in aluminum foundries. investigation of the exposure of various occupational groups in two aluminum foundry plants to aluminum aerosols. materials and methods: to study the occupational exposure of foundry workers to respirable aerosols of aluminum, personal sampling was conducted from the breathing zone of 63 workers at two foundries in the south of tehran city following niosh method no. 0600. then samples were treated using niosh institute optimized method no. 7013 and analyzed by high sensitivity graphite atomic absorption.collected data were analyzed with spss v.16 statistical software using an independent sample t-test and anova. result: the average of aluminum respirable aerosols in a and b factories were 3.21±2.33 and 3.31±2.15 mg/m 3 respectively. the one-way anova indicated that occupational exposure among various occupational groups (similar exposure group) in foundry a had no significant difference (p=0.089), but differences between the exposure of melting and assembling groups in foundry b are significant (p=0.044). in general, in exposure frequency to aerosols in aluminum foundries, a significant difference was observed between melting and assembling groups (p=0.005) as well among abrading and assembling groups (p=0.02). conclusion: most of the exposures to aluminum in foundry workers exceeded the current limits given by acgih institute and the iranian occupational exposure limits. according to the occupational exposure of both foundries and the absence of differences among variables involved in the exposure, the high exposure of melting and abrading groups compared to assembling groups can be attributed to the nature of these units in the production of aluminum aerosols. references daniel krewski, robert a yokel. human health risk assessment for aluminum, aluminum oxide, and aluminum hydroxide. j toxicol environ health b crit rev. 2007; 10(suppl 1): 1–269. zhang k, zhou q. toxic effects of al‐based coagulants on brassica chinensis and raphanus sativus growing in acid and neutral conditions. environ toxicol. 2005; 20(2):179-87 becaria a, campbell a, bondy s. aluminum as a toxicant.toxicol. ind. health. 2002; 18(7):309-20 gómez m, sánchez dj, llobet jm, corbella j, domingo j. the effect ofage on aluminum retention in rats. j toxicol. 1997; 116(1-3):1-8 polizzi s, pira e, ferrara m, bugiani m, papaleo a, albera r, et al. neurotoxic effects of aluminium among foundry workers and alzheimer's disease. neurotoxicology. 2002;23(6):761-74 winder c, stacey n. occupational toxicology. 2, editor. florida: crc press; 2004. exley c, chappell j, birchall j. a mechanism for acute aluminium toxicity in fish. j theor biol. 1991;151(3):417-28 yokel ra. persistent aluminum accumulation after prolonged systemic aluminum exposure. biol trace elem res. 1983; 5(6):467-74 zatta p, favaroto m, nicolini m. deposition of aluminum in brain tissues of rats exposed to inhalation of aluminum acetylacetonate. neuroreport. 1993;4(9):1119-22 baydar t, engin a, aydin a, sahin g. effect of aluminum exposure on pteridine metabolism. biol trace elem res. 2005; 106(2):153-64 buchta m, kiesswetter e, otto a, schaller k, seeber a, hilla w, et al. longitudinal study examining the neurotoxicity of occupational exposure to aluminum-containing welding fumes. ijoeh. 2003; 76(7):539-48 gitelman hj, alderman fr, kurs-lasky m, rockette he. serum and urinary aluminum levels of workers in the aluminium industry. ann occup hyg. 1995; 39(2):181-91 riihimäki v, hänninen h, akila r, kovala t, kuosma e, paakkulainen h, et al. body burden of aluminum in relation to central nervous system function among metal inert-gas welders. scand. j. work environ. health. 2000; 26(2):118-30 sinczuk-walczak h, szymczak m, razniewska g, matczak w, szymczak w. effects of occupational exposure to aluminum on nervous system: clinical and electroencephalographic findings. ijomeh. 2003; 16(4):301-10 hałatek t, trzcinka-ochocka m, matczak w, gruchała j. serum clara cell protein as an indicator of pulmonary impairment in occupational exposure at aluminum foundry. ijomeh. 2006; 19(4):211-23 metwally fm, mazhar ms. effect of aluminum on the levels of some essential elements in occupationally exposed workers. arh hig rada toksikol. 2007; 58(3):305-11 röllin hb, theodorou p, cantrell ac. biological indicators of exposure to total and respirable aluminum dust fractions in a primary aluminum smelter. occup environ med. 1996. 53(6); 417-21 westberg h, selden a. letter to the editor. arch. environ health. 1999; 54:364