Workers' Exposure to Indium Compounds at the Electronics Industry in Republic of Korea

Yi, Gwang-Yong; Jeong, Jee-Yeon; Bae, Yasung; Shin, Jung‐Ah; Ma, Hyelan; Lee, Naroo; Park, Seung-Hyun; Park, Dooyong

doi:10.1016/j.shaw.2020.11.002

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Moreover, according to the results of the OSHRI survey in 2012, the indium concentration ( n = 9) in the total dust in the Korean indium target manufacturing industry produced an arithmetic mean of 121 µg/m 3 , a geometric mean of 54.7 µg/m 3 , and a maximum value of 502.1. The concentrations measured in this study were 27.3 µg/m 3 , 18.0 µg/m 3 , and 68.4 µg/m 3 , respectively, which confirms that the past concentration levels [ 14 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

“…In this study, the mean respirable indium fraction of the total dust was 30%, which is relatively high. A large-scale study in Korea previously estimated the fraction of respirable indium dust ( n = 13) from the total dust ( n = 16) at 39% [ 14 ]. A comparable Japanese study revealed the mean respirable fraction in the indium manufacturing process ( n = 17) to be 38% (Total In/Respirable In 2.64) [ 15 ], and a similar study in the US revealed a mean respirable indium fraction of 30% (respirable In: 10.9 µg/m 3 ; inhalable In: 36.5 µg/m 3 ) [ 16 ], consistent with the results of this study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Assessment of Occupational Exposure to Indium Dust for Indium-Tin-Oxide Manufacturing Workers

Kim¹,

Cha²,

Choi³

et al. 2021

Biomolecules

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

According to recent research, indium nanoparticles (NPs) are more toxic than micro-sized particles. While cases of indium lung disease have been reported worldwide, very little research has been conducted on the occupational exposure to indium NPs. Recently, an indium-related lung disease was reported in Korea, a global powerhouse for display manufacturing. In this study, we conducted an assessment ofoccupational exposure at an indium tin oxide (ITO) powder manufacturing plant, where the first case of indium lung disease in Korea occurred. Airborne dustwas obtained from a worker’s breathing zone, and area sampling in the workplace environment was conducted using real-time monitoring devices. Personal samples were analyzed for the indium concentrations in total dust, respirable dust fraction, and NPs using personal NPs respiratory deposition samplers. The total indium concentration of the personal samples was lower than the threshold limit value recommended by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH TLV), which was set as occupational exposure limit (OEL). However, the respirable indium concentration exceeded the recently set ACGIH TLV for the respirable fraction of indium dust. The concentration of indium NPs ranged between 0.003 and 0.010 × 10−2 mg/m3, accounting for only 0.4% of the total and 2.7% of the respirable indium particles. This was attributed to the aggregating of NPs at the µm sub-level. Given the extremely low fraction of indium NPs in the total and respirable dust, the current OEL values, set as the total and respirable indium concentrations, do not holistically represent the occupational exposure to indium NPs or prevent health hazards. Therefore, it is necessary to set separate OEL values for indium NPs. This study covers only the process of handling ITO powder. Therefore, follow-up studies need to be conducted on other ITO sputtering target polishing and milling processes, which typically generate more airborne NPs, to further investigate the effects of indium on workers and facilitate the necessary implementation of indium-reducing technologies.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%