The performance of solid wood and woodbased materials is generally increased by applying chemical and physical treatments; however they may compromise the recyclability of the products reaching their end life. Among the wide range of chemicals applicable to wood-based materials some are source of concern and a few (e.g. Chromate Copper Arsenate) are considered to be dangerous waste. This work focuses on the elemental analysis of wood residues developing a survey on contamination levels of wooden materials, intended either for quantifying wood not polluted that may be re-used as ''virgin'' raw material, or as a preliminary step of an automated sorting method using Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (ED-XRF). The analyses are referred to elemental concentration reported for natural solid wood and to those thresholds set by law. In a sampling carried out mainly in north Italy, 336 wood waste specimens were collected, classified using descriptor fields and analyzed with ED-XRF technique, implementing a validation method for short scan time. Roughly 84 % of the specimens comply with the EU decision (Ecolabel) on heavy metals, ranging from 94 to 63 % (fibreboard, hardwood, softwood, plywood, particleboard recycled and
In Italy, the woodworking industry presents many issues in terms of occupational health and safety. This study on exposure to wood dust could contribute to the realization of a prevention model in order to limit exposure to carcinogenic agents to the worker. The sampling methodology illustrated the analysis of dust emissions from the woodworking machinery in operation throughout the various processing cycles. The quantitative and qualitative assessment of exposure was performed using two different methodologies. The levels of wood dust were determined according to EN indications and sampling was conducted using IOM and Cyclon personal samplers. The qualitative research of wood dust was performed using an advanced laser air particle counter. This allowed the number of particles present to be counted in real time. The results obtained allowed for an accurate assessment of the quality of the dust emitted inside the workplace during the various processing phases. The study highlighted the distribution of air particles within the different size classes, the exact number of both thin and ultra-thin dusts, and confirmed the high concentration of thin dust particles which can be very harmful to humans
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