Occupational exposure to nano-TiO2 in the life cycle steps of new depollutant mortars used in construction

C. Vaquero, N. Gelarza, J. L López De Ipiña, C. Gutierrez-Cañas, I. Múgica, G. Aragón, M. Jaen, R. Pina, I. Larraza, A. Esteban-Cubillo, D. Thompson, D. Y H Pui

Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

The present work is focused on the measurement of workers exposure to nano-TiO2 in the life cycle steps of depollutant mortars. It has been done in the framework of the SCAFFOLD project, which aims at the management of potential risks arising from the use of manufactured nanomaterials in construction. Main findings can be summarized as follows: (1) The occupational exposure to nano-TiO2 is below 0.3 mg/m3 for all measured scenarios. The highest concentrations were measured during the cleaning task (in the nano-TiO2 manufacturing process) and during the application (spraying) of depollutant coatings on a wall. It was found a high release of particles above the background in several tasks as expected due to the nature of the activities performed. The maximum concentration was measured during drilling and during adding powder materials (mean total particle concentration up to 5.591E+04 particles/cm3 and 5.69E+04 particles/cm3). However, considering data on total particle concentration released, no striking differences have been observed when tasks have been performed using conventional materials in the sector (control) and when using materials doped with nano-objects.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number012006
JournalJournal of Physics: Conference Series
Volume617
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - May 26 2015
Event4th International Conference on Safe Production and Use of Nanomaterials, NANOSAFE 2014 - Grenoble, France
Duration: Nov 18 2014Nov 20 2014

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© Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.

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