Exposure and urinary excretion of aluminum during welding.

Sjögren, Bengt; Lidums, Vitauts; Hakansson, Marianne; Hedström, Lars

doi:10.5271/sjweh.2255

Cited by 63 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…This study and many previous ones (2)(3)(4)(5)11,13,14) show that exposure to aluminum welding fumes can be Riihimäki et al of concern because the intake can lead to significant rapid systemic absorption of aluminum and, in the long term, to the development of a remarkable lung burden, as well as to an abnormally large body burden in the skeleton. The concern also applies to other processes involving the generation of vapor condensation fumes of aluminum (arc spraying, plasma cutting), as well as to the manufacture of finely divided aluminum powder (3,(15)(16)(17).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%

“…Aluminum metal and aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 ) are practically insoluble in water and are thus presumably poorly absorbed into living organisms. However, oxidized aluminum, contained in ultrafine particles, behaves differently, since some aluminum of the welding fume is rapidly taken up by the welder's lungs (2). Grinding and polishing accompany welding.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previously, several studies have investigated the environmental and internal exposure of workers to aluminum in welding (2)(3)(4)(5) with the aim of evaluating the uptake and urinary excretion kinetics of the metal. With great detail, Matczak & Gromiec (1) measured the concentrations of metals in the breathing zone of welders during the actual MIG or TIG welding of aluminum.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sjögren and his coworkers pioneered the development of biological monitoring practices based on the urinary aluminum excretion of aluminum welders. They demonstrated that the welder's urinary aluminum concentration, which could exceed the normal range by as much as 100-fold, depended partly on the level of current airborne exposure and partly on the duration of the exposure history (2). High concentrations of aluminum were found in the lungs of two aluminum welders who had died of pneumoconiosis induced by exposure to aluminum welding fumes (6).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Behavior of aluminum in aluminum welders and manufacturers of aluminum sulfate—impact on biological monitoring

Riihimäki¹,

Valkonen²,

Engström³

et al. 2008

Scand J Work Environ Health

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Riihimäki V, Valkonen S, Engström B, Tossavainen A, Mutanen P, Aitio A. Behavior of aluminum in aluminum welders and manufacturers of aluminum sulfate-impact on biological monitoring. Scand J Work Environ Health 2008;34(6):451-462. ObjectivesThe suitability of determining aluminum in serum or urine as a form of biological monitoring was critically assessed.Methods Airborne and internal aluminum exposure was assessed for 12 aluminum welders in a shipyard and 5 manufacturers of aluminum sulfate. Particles were characterized with X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Aluminum in air and biological samples was analyzed using electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. Basic toxicokinetic features were inferred from the data. ResultsThe mean 8-hour time-weighted average concentration of aluminum was 1.1 (range 0.008-6.1) mg/m 3 for the shipyard and 0.13 (range 0.02-0.5) mg/m 3 for the aluminum sulfate plant. Welding fume contained aluminum oxide particles <0.1 µm in diameter and their agglomerates, whereas bauxite and aluminum sulfate particles ranged from 1 to 10 µm in diameter. The shipyard welders' mean postshift serum and urinary concentrations of aluminum (S-Al and U-Al, respectively) were 0.22 and 3.4 µmol/l, respectively, and the aluminum sulfate workers' corresponding values were 0.13 and 0.58 µmol/l. Between two shifts, the welders' S-Al concentration decreased by about 50% (P<0.01), but their U-Al concentration did not change (P=0.64). No corresponding temporal changes occurred among the aluminum sulfate workers. After aluminum welding at the shipyard had ceased, the median S-Al concentration decreased by about 50% (P=0.007) within a year, but there was no change (P=0.75) in the corresponding U-Al concentration.Conclusions About 1% of aluminum in welding fume appears to be rapidly absorbed from the lungs, whereas an undetermined fraction is retained and forms a lung burden. A higher fractional absorption of aluminum seems possible for aluminum sulfate workers without evidence of a lung burden. After rapid absorption, aluminum is slowly mobilized from the lung burden and dominates the S-Al and U-Al concentrations of aluminum welders. For kinetic reasons, S-Al or U-Al concentrations cannot be used to estimate the accumulation of aluminum in the target organs of toxicity. However, using U-Al analysis to monitor aluminum welders' lung burden seems practical.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Behavior of aluminum in aluminum welders and manufacturers of aluminum sulfate—impact on biological monitoring

Riihimäki¹,

Valkonen²,

Engström³

et al. 2008

Scand J Work Environ Health

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“…In contrast, miners, smelters, and other metal workers can be exposed to toxic levels of aluminum through dusts and aerosols. A group of aluminum welders (26), for example, was exposed to 2.4 mg/m3 of aluminum (8-hr time-weighted average), which results in inhalation of 23 mg over an 8-hr shift.…”

Section: Specific Sources Of Exposurementioning

confidence: 99%

The biological speciation and toxicokinetics of aluminum.

DeVoto

Yokel

1994

Environ Health Perspect

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This review discusses recent literature on the chemical and physiological factors that influence the absorption, distribution, and excretion of aluminum in mammals, with particular regard to gastrointestinal absorption and speciation in plasma. Humans encounter aluminum, a ubiquitous yet highly insoluble element in most forms, in foods, drinking water, and pharmaceuticals. Exposure also occurs by inhalation of dust and aerosols, particularly in occupational settings. Absorption from the gut depends largely on pH and the presence of complexing ligands, particularly carboxylic acids, with which the metal can form absorbable neutral aluminum species. Uremic animals and humans experience higher than normal body burdens of aluminum despite increased urinary clearance of the metal. In plasma, 80-90% of aluminum binds to transferrin, an iron-transport protein for which receptors exist in many tissue. The remaining fraction of plasma aluminum takes the form of small-molecule hydroxy species and small complexes with carboxylic acids, phosphate, and, to a much lesser degree, amino acids. Most of these species have not been observed in vivo but are predicted from equilibrium models derived from potentiometric methods and NMR investigations. These models predict that the major small-molecule aluminum species under plasma conditions are charged and hence unavailable for uptake into tissues.

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