Mists from Strong Inorganic Acids

1.1 Manufacturing processes Major industries with exposure to strong inorganic acid mists include those that manufacture phosphate fertilizer, isopropanol (isopropyl alcohol), synthetic ethanol (ethyl alcohol), sulfuric acid, nitric acid, and lead batteries. Exposure also occurs during copper smelting, and pickling and other acid treatment of metals (Suresh, 2009). Minor uses of sulfuric acid include applications in petroleum refining, mining, metallurgy, and ore processing, in the synthesis of inorganic and organic chemicals, synthetic rubber and plastics, in the processing of pulp and paper, the manufacture of soap and detergents, cellulose fibres and films, inorganic pigments and paints, and in water treatment. The use of sulfuric acid is declining in some industries. For example, there is a trend in the steel industry to use hydrochloric acid instead of sulfuric acid in the metallurgic process of pickling, and hydrofluoric acid has replaced sulfuric acid for some applications in the petroleum industry (IARC, 1992; ATSDR, 1998; NTP, 2005). 1.2 Human exposure