Aerosols nickel

Nickel aerosols, occupational exposure Lung cancer, nasal sinusitis, chronic rhinitis 10... 

Pneumoconiosis has been reported among workers exposed to nickel dust, but exposure to known fibrogenic substances could not be excluded. Nasal irritation, damage to the nasal mucosa, perforation of the nasal septum, and loss of smell have only occasionally been reported in workers exposed to nickel aerosols and other contaminants. ... 

Receptor models are powerful tools for source apportionment of particulates because a vast amount of particulate species characterization data have been collected at many sampling sites worldwide, and because many aerosol species are primary pollutants. Most of the information available is for elemental concentrations, eg, lead, nickel, and alurninum, although more recent measurements have provided data on concentrations of ionic species and carbonaceous compounds. At a sampling (or receptor) site, the aerosol mass concentration of each species i is... 

The major contribution to ambient nickel originates from the combustion of fossil fuels one of the predominant forms in air is nickel sulphate [263]. In electroplating shops and electro-refining plants, workers are exposed to aerosols of dissolved nickel salts electroplating using nickel sulphate accounts for about 20% of the nickel produced [264]. 

Nickel releases to the atmosphere are mainly in the form of aerosols that cover a broad spectrum of sizes. Particulates from power plants tend to be associated with smaller particles than those from smelters (Cahill 1989 Schroeder et al. 1987). Atmospheric aerosols are removed by gravitational settling and dry and wet deposition. Submicron particles may have atmospheric half-lives as long as 30 days (Schroeder et al. 1987). Monitoring data confrrm that nickel can be transported far from its source (Pacyna and Ottar 1985). Nickel concentrations in air particulate matter in remote, rural, and U.S. urban areas are 0.01-60, 0.6-78, and 1-328 ng/m, respectively (Schroeder et al. 1987). 

Occupational exposure to nickel may occur by dermal contact or by inhalation of aerosols, dusts, fumes, or mists containing nickel. Dermal contact may also occur with nickel solutions, such as those used in electroplating, nickel salts, and nickel metal or alloys. Nickel-containing dust may be ingested where poor work practices exist or poor personal hygiene is practiced. A National Occupational Exposure Survey (NOES) conducted by NIOSH from 1981 to 1983 estimates that 727,240 workers are potentially exposed to some form of nickel metal, alloys, salts, or inorganic nickel compounds in the United States (NIOSH 1990). The form of nickel these workers were probably exposed to and the level of exposure for different industries and operations were reviewed by Warner (1984) and lARC (1990). 

From a public health point of view, the concentration of nickel associated with small particles that can be inhaled into the lungs is of greatest concern. The nickel content of aerosols from power plant emissions is not strongly correlated with particle size (Hansen and Fisher 1980). In one modem coal plant, 53% and 32% of nickel in emissions were associated with particles <3 and <1.5 pm in diameter, respectively (Sabbioni et al. 1984). Other studies found that only 17-22% of nickel emissions from coal-fired power plants were associated with particles of >2 pm, and that the mass medium diameter (MMD) of nickel-containing particles from a plant with pollution control devices was 5. 4 pm (Gladney et al. 1978 Lee et al. 1975). In one study, 40% of the nickel in coal fly ash was adsorbed on the surface of the particles rather than being embedded in the aluminosilicate matrix (Hansen and Fisher 1980). Surface-adsorbed nickel would be more available than embedded nickel. 

Horie A, Tanaka I, Haratake J, et al. 1985. Electron microscopy of pulmonary lesions including carcinoma, induced by inhalation exposure of rats to nickel oxide aerosol. In Brown SS, Sunderman FW Jr, eds. Progress in nickel toxicology. Proceedings of the 3rd International Congress on Nickel Metabolism and Toxicology. Oxford, UK Blackwell, 41-44. 

Johansson A, Curstedt T, Jarstrand C, et al. 1988b. Effects on the rabbit lung of combined exposure to nickel and trivalent chromium. Journal of Aerosol Science 19 1075-1078. 

Kodama Y, Ishimatsu S, Matsuno K, et al. 1985a. Pulmonary deposition and clearance of a nickel oxide aerosol by inhalation. Biol Trace Elem Res 7 1-8. 

Tanaka I, Horie A, Haratake J, et al. 1988. Lung burden of green nickel oxide aerosol and histopathological findings in rats after continuous inhalation. Biol Trace Elem Res 16 19-26. 

The sample is introduced into the ICP as a liquid which must usually contain less than 0.1% dissolved solids to prevent salt build-up on the nickel cones (see Section 5.3). This is in contrast to ICP-AES, which can tolerate up to 1% dissolved solids. The sample is converted to an aerosol by means of a pneumatic nebulizer, and the droplets pass through a spray chamber, into the injector tube of the quartz torch and thence into the central channel of the ICP. These processes are identical with those described for ICP-AES (see Section 4.4.3), and the different types of... 

A receptor model analysis in western Germany separated nitrate-rich from sulphate-rich secondary aerosols, with the latter being accompanied with vanadium and nickel [7]. Such factor composition pinpoints to heavy oil combustion sources which can be found, e.g. in oil refineries, off-shore platforms and overseas ships. In addition, trans-boundary pollution from eastern European countries is a significant source. 

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