The increasing attention to the environmental and health impacts of industrial activities by governmental regulations and by the growing awareness level in the society is forcing industrialists to reduce the use of mineral oil-based metalworking fluids as cutting fluid. Cutting fluids have been used extensively in metal cutting operations for the last 200 years. In the beginning, cutting fluids...

This article is based upon my own experiences with metalworking fluids and the adverse health effects and medical conditions associated with exposure to metalworking fluids. I have researched and witnessed the benefits that can be achieved when metalworking fluids are properly maintained and managed. My experiences have provided insight into how a shop operates, including comprehension of the e...

Metalworking fluids (MWFs) are a common cause of allergic and irritant contact dermatitis. MWFs being currently used are mostly water based, containing biocides, emulsifiers, and other additives. We performed a retrospective analysis of the etiology of the occupational dermatoses caused by metalworking fluids in three regions of Central Slovakia (population of approximately 2 million) between 2...

A previously healthy man working as a machine operator in an automotive factory developed respiratory symptoms. Medical evaluation showed abnormal pulmonary function tests, a lung biopsy showed hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and his illness was traced to his work environment. His physician asked the employer to remove him from exposure to metalworking fluids. Symptoms reoccurred when he was late...

The metalworking and machining industry utilizes recirculating metalworking fluids for integral aspects of the fabrication process. Despite the use of biocides, these fluids sustain substantial biological growth. Subsequently, the high-shear forces incurred during metalworking processing aerosolize bacterial cells and may cause dermatologic and respiratory effects in exposed workers. We quantif...

Metalworking fluids (MWFs) are harmful to the environment and to the health of workers, resulting in pressures to re-design them in accordance with sustainable manufacturing principles. In this paper, we review research being performed at the University of Michigan to minimize the life cycle environmental and health impacts of metalworking fluids while simultaneously improving manufacturing per...

Utilization of metalworking fluids in the technological process of metalworking brings its advantages and disadvantages, mainly associated with the contamination of the working air through cutting fluid mist. The primary aim of this article is to approximate the mechanism of aerosols generation which contaminates the working air and to draw the attention to the problem of quantification of gene...

Metalworking fluids provide an excellent environment for the growth and proliferation of a variety of bacteria and fungi. Historically, the incidence of infectious disease outbreaks at metalworking facilities has been rare. Consequently the primary focus of microbial contamination control efforts has been to prevent fluid biodeterioration. Research conducted over the past decade increasingly su...