School of Public Health, Adelaide Exposure Science and Health, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
Mawson Analytical Spectrometry Services, School of Physical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
Sci Rep. 2022 Mar 14;12(1):4351. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-08378-8.
Engineered stones are novel construction materials associated with a recent upsurge in silicosis cases among workers in the stonemason industry. In order to understand the hazard for the short latency of lung disease among stonemasons, we simulated real-time dust exposure scenario by dry-machining engineered stones in controlled conditions, capturing and analysing the respirable dust generated for physical and chemical characteristics. Natural granite and marble were included for comparison. Cutting engineered stones generated high concentrations of very fine particles (< 1 µm) with > 80% respirable crystalline silica content, in the form of quartz and cristobalite. Engineered stones also contained 8-20% resin and 1-8% by weight metal elements. In comparison, natural stones had far lower respirable crystalline silica (4- 30%) and much higher metal content, 29-37%. Natural stone dust emissions also had a smaller surface area than engineered stone, as well as lower surface charge. This study highlighted the physical and chemical variability within engineered stone types as well as between engineered and natural stones. This information will ultimately help understand the unique hazard posed by engineered stone fabrication work and help guide the development of specific engineering control measures targeting lower exposure to respirable crystalline silica.
人造石材是一种新型建筑材料，与近年来石匠行业矽肺病例的激增有关。为了了解石匠行业肺部疾病潜伏期短的危害，我们在控制条件下通过干式加工人造石材模拟实时粉尘暴露情况，采集和分析产生的可呼吸粉尘的物理和化学特性。同时也将天然花岗岩和大理石包括在内进行比较。研究发现，切割人造石材会产生高浓度的极细颗粒（<1 µm），其中含有>80%可呼吸结晶二氧化硅，形式为石英和方石英。人造石材还含有 8-20%的树脂和 1-8%的金属元素。相比之下，天然石材的可呼吸结晶二氧化硅含量要低得多（4-30%），而金属含量要高得多，为 29-37%。此外，天然石材的粉尘排放比人造石材的粉尘排放具有更小的表面积和更低的表面电荷。这项研究强调了人造石材类型内部以及人造石材和天然石材之间的物理和化学可变性。这些信息最终将有助于了解人造石材加工工作带来的独特危害，并有助于指导制定针对可呼吸结晶二氧化硅低暴露的特定工程控制措施。
