Assessment of Fumes Generated from Cutting of Scrap Metals by AAS and ICP-AES in a Steel Industry

Heavy metal fume is one of the most important risk factors in the workplaces. This study was performed to investigate unknown fumes with high concentrations and to reduce exposure stress among exposed workers in the site of scrap metal cutting in one of the country''s major steel industries. In this study، to determine the composition of unknown fumes produced from scrap cutting process، personal samples were collected from breathing zone of all exposed workers. Samples preparation and analysis were carried out based on NIOSH methods; Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry-AAS (Method 7300) and Induced Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometry- ICP-AES (Method 7048). From ten metals identified، only mean concentration of iron oxide exceeded Threshold Limit Value (TLV) and concentrations of the remaining nine metals were below the exposure limits. High concentrations of fumes generated from cutting process of scraps were mainly due to iron oxide. Therefore، concerns among workers and managers over presence of chemicals; such as cadmium and nickel، and their health effects were not the case. This was also confirmed by periodic examination results.