Dissolution of glass compositions containing no added lead in simulated lung fluid.

Six crystal glass compositions containing no added lead were studied with respect to the potential exposure of workers during the cold-end working of crystal type glasses. During cutting and grinding of crystal glass, fine dusts are produced. These may be inhaled by the workers with subsequent partial dissolution of the dusts in the lung fluid. In order to provide a measure of the degree of dissolution in the case of the six crystal glass compositions produced in this work, the release of antimony, barium, silicon, and bismuth was investigated by passing simulated lung fluid over powdered samples of the crystal having a maximum distribution at a diameter of ca. 0.5 microm for a period of 21 days. The results show that it is possible to produce durable glass containing no added lead. While the leaching and weathering of the glass compositions studied here could be correlated with the mole ratio of alkali/silica and the degree of depolymerisation of the silica network, the dissolution of silica in simulated lung fluid seems to be independent of this property.