1、 AWS EWH-2 82 = 0784265 050b384 892 W . EFFECTS OF WELDING ON HEALTH Il AMERICAN WELDING SOCIETY AWS EWH-2 81 0784265 0506385 729 Effects of Welding on Health II An up-dated (January 19 78-May 1979) literature survey and evaluation of the data recorded since the publication of the first report, to u
2、nderstand and improve the occupational health of welding personnel. Research performed at the Franklin Research Center under contract with the American Welding Society and supported by industry contributions. Prepared for: SAFETY AND HEALTH COMMITTEE AMERICAN WELDING SOCIETY 2501 NW 7th Street, Miam
3、i, Florida 33125 AWS EWH-2 81 m 07842b5 050b38b 665 = Library of Congress Number: 79-52672 International Standard Book Number: 0-87 171-212-1 American Welding Society, 2501 N.W. 7th Street, Miami, FL 33125 O 198 1 by American Welding Society. All rights reserved. Note: By publication of this documen
4、t the American Welding Society does not insure anyone utilizing the document against liability arising from the use of such document. A publication of a document by the American Welding Society does not carry with it any right to make, use, or sell any patented items. Each prospective user should ma
5、ke an independent investigation. Printed in the United States of America AWS EWH-2 81 m 0784265 O506387 5TL m Contents Personnel v Acknowledgements . vii Preface ix Introduction xi Executive Summary . xiii Technical Summary . xix Recommendations xxiii . 1 . The Exposure Fumes Gases . Nitrogen Oxides
6、 . . Ozone . Phosgene Phosphine Carbon Monoxide . Radiations . Visible Radiation . . Ultraviolet Radiation Infrared Radiation . Noise . . 1 . 1 . 2 . 2 . 3 . 3 . 5 . 3 . 3 . 4 . 4 . 4 . 5 2 . Effects of Welding on Human Health . 7 Background 8 Toxicity to Various Organs 8 Effects on the Respiratory
7、System . 8 Acute Diseases Due to Occupational Exposure . 9 Effects on the Ear and Hearing 13 Effects on the Skin 13 Effects on the Gastrointestinal Tract . 13 Effects on the Cardiovascular System 14 Effects on the Central Nervous System . 14 Effects on the Liver 14 Effects on the Musculoskeletal Sys
8、tem . 14 Effects on the Reproductive System 14 Effects on the Urinary System 14 Effects on the Endocrine System . 15 Effects on the Teeth and Oral Cavity 15 . . 111 AWS EWH-2 81 W 0784265 O506388 438 CONTENTS Metal Fume Fever and Allergic Reactions Biochemical Changes Carcinogenicity of the Fumes .
9、Skin Cancer . Brain Tumors . Cancer of the Bladder Absorption. Distribution. Biotransformation. and Excretion of Fumes and Other Components Epidemiologic Studies . Pulmonary Diseases . Skin Injuries . Urinary Bladder Cancer . Human Fatalities . Cancer of the Lung and Nasal Sinuses . . 15 . 16 . 17 .
10、 17 . 17 . 18 . 18 . 19 . 19 . 21 . 21 . 21 . 22 3 . Toxicologic investigation in Animals . Experiments Using Welding Fumes Effect of Fumes on the Skin Experiments Using Individual Components of the Fumes Beryllium . Cadmium . Cobalt Iron . Manganese . Nickel Studies on Carcinogenicity of Metais . 2
11、3 24 25 25 25 25 27 27 28 28 29 4 . in Vitro Studies 31 References 35 Bibliography 43 iv Personnel Authors of the report by Franklin Research Center were: Samir Zakhari and Roy S. Anderson AWS Research Committee J. F. Hinrichs, Chairman A. Lesnewich, Vice-Chuiman M.E. Kennebeck. Jr., Secretary K.L.
12、Brown R.E. Kinser P.C. Krueger P. W. Ramsey A.N. Ward A.O. Smith Corporation Airco Welding Products American Welding Society Lincoln Electric Company Caterpillar Tractor Company Airco Welding Products A.O. Smith Corporation Caterpillar Tractor Company V AWS EWH-2 8% m 0784265 0506390 O96 = Acknowled
13、gments The American Welding Society gratefully acknowledges the time and effort expended by the members of the Research Committee and the Research Finance Committee and the financial support of the program by industry contributions. Supporting Organizations Alloy Rods Westinghouse Electric Company A
14、irco, Inc. Miller Electric Company The Heil Company United States Steel Corporation Union Carbide Corporation Babcock and Wilcox Company General Electric Company E.I. DuPont de Nemours findings were presented in October 1978to the SafetyandHealthCommittee ofAWSin thereportEffectsofWeldingon Health (
15、Ref. 1). Since then, much scientific study has been reported, and it was found necessary to update the earlier report. As the present work focuses mainly on health effects of welding, newly published methods of sampling and analyses of welding fume have not been emphasized. Like workers in the metal
16、s industry, welders are generally exposed to a variety of occupational risks such as cuts, bruises, and sometimes more severe injuries due to the handling of massive metal objects. Furthermore, due to the nature of their work, welders are exposed to other occupational hazards such as heat, radiation
17、, and the inhalation of fumes that might cause acute or chronic health effects. It is the purpose of this review to evaluate and present an update to include information on the effects of welding on health published from the start of 1978 through May 1979. The reader is cautioned that the papers rev
18、iewed were examined only for manual consistency. No independent checks of the experiments were performed. This report must be read in conjunction with Effects of Welding on Health by Villaume et ai. xi AWS EWH-2 81 07842b5 050b393 T5 Executive Summary Although welders are exposed to various potentia
19、lly hazardous substances, overt clinical disease is an infre- quent phenomenon among adult welders. This is due to continually improved industrial hygiene techniques, re- search findings, and the fact that repeated exposure to a given compound in small concentrations could stimulate various defense
20、mechanisms in the human body to effectively deal with the “invader.” Tolerance (that is, reduced sensitivity of the body to the toxic effects of chemicals) and the development of various immune responses are factors that contribute to the lack of overt toxicity syndromes in certain cases. On the oth
21、er hand, life-style factors, such as smoking or drinking habits, use of drugs, and personal hygiene, could not only change the clinical picture of metal exposure, but also give rise to totally misleading findings. It follows, therefore, that we are faced with two situations that might lead to errone
22、ous conclusions: first, subclinical cases that are considered normal on medical examinations; second, clinical cases that are inaccurately blamed on welding exposure. However, these two groups have in their biological systems a variable amount of “extrinsic sub- stances.” It is clear, therefore, tha
23、t biological monitoring for the presence of various chemicals in biological fluids or tissues, or both, constitutes one accurate measure by which health personnel can estimate the level of exposure to a given toxic substance, particularly the complex mixture known to be involved in welding processes
24、, especially when used in conjunction with careful environ- mental monitoring techniques. Regular testing of the urine, blood, hair, or enzymatic patterns of welders could be used to alert the industrial hygienist to the possibility of overexposure to a given compound. There are two limitations to t
25、he use of biochemical testing: (I) The only criterion in such analysis is the deviation from what would be expected to be “normal.” Certain biological tests, especially tl .ose that involve enzymatic systems, have a wide range of “normal” or control values. (2) The toxicokinetics (ti at is, the abso
26、rption, distri- bution, and excretion) of di ferent metals do not obey a fwed pattern of behavior; thus, while some metals are cumulative, others are not. With the development of modern technology, it would be very gratifying to develop sensitive and specific diagnostic tests to detect any ail- ment
27、 in welders long before any “irreversible” damage might occur. Before recommending specific biochemical tests for determining the extent of welder exposure to fumes, it was found necessary to review the merits of the analysis of various heavy metals in biological fluids. Analyses for Metallic Compou
28、nds It is becoming increasingly clear that analyses of blood, urine, expired air, and other specimens of biological origin, though not always reliable, have value in conjunc- tion with environmental monitoring to determine the degree of exposure to environmental substances. The main justification fo
29、r this j, int approach lies in the fact that direct analysis of enviri nental air, though providing an accurate assessment of the amount of potentially toxic substances in ambient air, fails to precisely reflect the degree to which these materials are actually absorbed by different biological system
30、s. Since the degree of toxicity is directly related to the amount of toxic substance delivered to the target organ, it follows that detection of these substances in biospecimens potentially provides a better measurement of exposure and, hence, the degree of toxicity. It, is, therefore, suggested tha
31、t the joint determination of the amount of metals or gases, or both, and their metabolities in biospecimens from welders (such . XI11 AWS EWH-2 81 = 0784265 0506394 731 EFFECTS OF WELDING ON HEALTH as blood, urine, hair, nails, saliva), plus environmental monitoring, could be used to measure the ext
32、ent of ex- posure, and better estimate the total risk. Urine Analysis for Metallic Compounds Generally speaking, urine analysis constitutes a practi- cal method for monitoring the extent of exposure. Its value in the diagnosis of exposure to certain metals is dubious. Urine analysis of workers expos
33、ed to various metals showed that significant excretion in excess has been observed for such elements as nickel (Refs. 2 and 3); chromium (Refs. 4 and 5); cadmium (Refs. 6, 7, and 8); lead (Refs. 9 and 10); arsenic (Ref. 11); fluorides (Refs. 12, 13, and 14); and selenium (Ref. 15). Some observa- tio
34、ns in recent publications are summarized in Table 1. Blood Analysis for Metallic Compounds In 1977, Ulfvarson and Wold (Ref. 16) estimated the concentration of 17 trace elements (lead, strontium, rubidium, beryllium, gaiiium, zinc, copper, cobalt, iron, manganese, chromium, calcium, potassium, sulfu
35、r, phos- phorus, silicon, and magnesium) in whole blood samples Table 1 Observations from recently published urine analysis studies Metal Occupation Observations Reference Nickel Welders 1. Correlation between ex- posure and excretion was demonstrated for levels i to 5 mg/m3. 2. No correlation was f
36、ound in welders exposed to less than 1 mg/m3. 3. No increase in urinary Ni excretion was found in welders exposed to O. i mg/m3. 1. Moderate increase in urinary Ni excretion was observed in arc welders. 2. Measurement of urinary Ni is more sensitive and practical than that in serum for determining t
37、he extent of exposure. indicator of short term exposure. 2. A high degree of correla- tion was found between inhaled Cr and its concen- tration in urine. times increased its level in urine; prolonged ex- posure resulted in a less prominent increase. 2. Urinary ALA levels were increased after exposur
38、e to lead. Chromium Welders 1. Urinary Cr level is a good Lead Welders 1. Exposure to Pb for short 3. Norseth and Gundersen 1978 185. Bernacki and Parsons 1978 4. Tola et al. 1977 5. Gylseth et al. 1977 9. Cramer et al. 1973 xiv AWS EUH-2 81 = 0784265 0506395 678 Execurive Summary of 71 persons util
39、izing various welding methods. They could not find a correlation between the level of exposure and blood levels. However, other authors found that the serum level of various metals is substantially increased in workers exposed to metals such as zinc (Ref. 17), cop- per, chromium, and nickel (Refs. 1
40、8 and 19), lead (Ref. 20), and cadmium (Ref. 6). Various observations are shown in Table 2. The “normal” amount of various metals in urine and blood as well as methods of their determination are mentioned elsewhere (Refs. 22 through 26). Perspiration Analysis for Nickel Sunderman (Ref. 27), in a rev
41、iew of the toxicity of nickel, maintained that the concentration of nickel in per- spiration was approximately 20 times greater than that in urine. If this is the case, determination of nickel in per- spiration may constitute a useful method for the estima- tion of exposure. Biochemical Tests for Me
42、tallic Exposure Biochemical tests show changes in the function of various organs due to excessive exposure to a given com- pound. Nonetheless, due to the wide range of “normal” values, slight fluctuations in these values due to early toxicity cannot be easily detected. Recently, some specific and hi
43、ghly sensitive tests have been developed to detect dysfunction of the target organs in early stages of poisoning. Such tests are exemplified by the determination of serum ornithine carbamyl trans- ferase (OCT) levels and greyscale ultrasonography as tests for the detection of early liver damage. it
44、is well known that antimony, beryllium, cadmium, cobalt, copper, and molybdenum bring about liver damage in humans. The effects of metallic elements usually present in a welding atmosphere on serum protein composition in humans are summarized in Table 3. Tables 4 and 5 summarize findings in experime
45、ntal animais (modified from DeBruin, Ref. 28). Table 2 Observations from recently published blood analysis studies Metal Occupation Observations Reference Chromium Autoworkers Lead Autoworkers 1. 2. Manganese Workers in Mn alloy plant Nickel Auto workers Zinc Various 1 occupations with high oxide Cr
46、 blood levels were significantly high. Increased blood Pb levels was observed in 59 percent of workers. Significant correlation between blood Pb levels and ALA-D activity was found. Mn concentration in blood did not increase with the increase in exposure time. Ni blood levels were significantly high
47、. Serum Zn concentra- tions are high and could be used to diagnose occuDationa1 exDosure. exposure 2. Serum Zn level is high in patients with zinc fever, especially on the first day. 18. Clausen and 19. Clausen and Rastogi 1977 Rastogi 1977 21. Tsaiev et al. 1977 18. Clausen and Rastogi 1977 17. Jar
48、emin 1977 AUS EWH-2 1 = 0784265 0506396 504 EFFEcTS OF WELDING ON HEALTH Table 3 Serum protein composition in human exposure Exposure Compound condition Observations Interpretation Lead (inorg.) Occupational workers, pro- longed exposure Cadmium Manganese Beryllium Selenium Copper Molybdenum Nickelc
49、arbonyl, Ni (COI4 Carbon monoxide, CO Occup. exp. Occup. exp., chronic Chronic poison Se factory Cu mining plants Chronic exp. (CuMo plant) Occup. exp., coke furnace workers (a.s.0.) General hypoalbuminemia with a corres- ponding rise of alpha and beta globulins in chronic plumbism; behavior of gamma globulin is not uniform; values either above or below normal were encountered. Slight protein shifts may occur in the absence of distinct signs of toxicity; changes are more pronounced with increasing seventy of clinical signs and with length of con
