Dermal exposure to chromium in the grinding of stainless and acid-proof steel.

OBJECTIVES The aim of the study was to measure the dermal exposure levels of chromium dust during grinding of stainless and acid-proof steel parts. METHODS The potential dermal exposure of the body was measured with a patch sampling method and the actual exposure of hands with a hand-wash method. Simultaneously, personal air samples were also collected. RESULTS The range of body and hand exposure to chromium dust was 4.04-3406 and 0.72-79.7 mg/h, respectively. Dust was distributed quite evenly to different body parts. CONCLUSIONS Workers using hand-held grinding tools were more exposed than those using band grinders. It was judged that the sampling methods applied in this study gave a realistic estimation of exposure levels, because of the uniform distribution of contamination during grinding. Respiratory exposure was high compared to Finnish occupational exposure limit values.