Air monitoring of aromatic hydrocarbons during automobile spray painting for developing change schedule of respirator cartridges

Abstract

In the absence of End of Service Life Indicator (ESLI), a cartridge change schedule should be established for ensuring that cartridges are changed before their end of service life. Factors effecting service life of cartridges were evaluated, including the amount of atmospheric contamination with aromatic hydrocarbon vapors in the workplace, temperature, and relative humidity of the air. A new change schedule was established based on comparing the results of air monitoring and workplace conditions, laboratory experiment, and the NIOSH MultiVapor software. Spray painters were being exposed to aromatic hydrocarbons in a range exceeding occupational exposure limits. The cartridge change schedule was not effective and could no longer provide adequate protection against organic contaminants for sprayers. Change schedules for respirator cartridges should be reduced from 16–24 hours to 4 hours. NIOSH’s service life software program could be applied to developing cartridge change schedules.

Evaluation of Respiratory Protection Program in Petrochemical Industries: Application of Analytic Hierarchy Process

“…Among the studied plants, only four plants stated that they replace cartridge or canister based on the calculated time schedule or end-of-service life indicator and others partially developed the cartridge/canister schedule (10 plants) or had no time schedule for cartridge change (10 plants). In studies by Jahangiri et al., conducted in Iran petrochemical industries [5] as well as paint spraying plants [26] , [27] , there was no proper replacement schedule program and interval of cartridges replacement significantly differed with the calculated standard cartridges' replacement schedule. This can lead to breakthrough and employees' overexposure to hazardous chemicals [28] .…”

Effect of Respiratory Protection on Respiratory Flow Rates of Vehicle Spray Painters in Ibadan Metropolis, Oyo State, Nigeria

“…Kamal and Malik [14] found that vehicle spray painters were exposed to isocyanate and aromatic solvents, which had significant effects on their hematopoiesis and they advocated for the need to create awareness among these workers to adopt self-safety measures during routine tasks. To minimize their exposure to volatile, organic compounds, vehicle spray painters should wear suitable types of respirators throughout the spraying process [15]. Depending on the hazardous and nature of the activity to be carried out, a range of respirators is available for consideration.…”