Curtin Medical School, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia.
Adelaide Exposure Science and Health, School of Public Health, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
Ann Work Expo Health. 2022 Aug 7;66(7):937-945. doi: 10.1093/annweh/wxac020.
Artificial stone (AS) is a composite material that has seen widespread use in construction, particularly for kitchen benchtops. However, fabrication processes with AS have been associated with serious lung disease. Safety data sheets (SDSs) aim to provide important information pertaining to composition and health risks. In the case of a complex mixture, SDSs may be problematic in terms of specific information on overall health risks. To assess this issue, we compared empirically determined mineral, metallic, and organic resin content of 25 individual AS products across six suppliers, with the corresponding SDS information. X-ray diffraction was used to quantitate the mineralogical components of AS samples, and X-ray fluorescence was used to estimate the metallic components. Organic material (resin content) was estimated using weight loss during calcination. Although the resin content for all AS samples was within the SDS-reported ranges, there was considerable variability in the crystalline silica content when comparing with supplier's SDS. Potentially toxicologically relevant metallic and mineral constituents were not reported. Some supplier SDSs were found to provide more information than others. Only one of the six suppliers provided crystalline mineral content other than silica, and only two suppliers provided any information about metals. There remains a limited understanding of lung pathogenesis from AS, and this study highlights the need for more comprehensive and standardized SDS information for risk assessment and management.
人造石（AS）是一种广泛应用于建筑的复合材料，特别是用于厨房台面。然而，使用 AS 的制造过程与严重的肺部疾病有关。安全数据表（SDS）旨在提供与成分和健康风险相关的重要信息。对于复杂的混合物，SDS 在总体健康风险的具体信息方面可能存在问题。为了评估这个问题，我们将六个供应商的 25 个人造石产品的实际确定的矿物质、金属和有机树脂含量与相应的 SDS 信息进行了比较。X 射线衍射用于定量分析 AS 样品的矿物成分，X 射线荧光用于估计金属成分。使用煅烧过程中的重量损失来估计有机材料（树脂含量）。尽管所有 AS 样品的树脂含量均在 SDS 报告的范围内，但与供应商 SDS 相比，结晶二氧化硅含量存在较大差异。未报告潜在的毒理学相关金属和矿物质成分。一些供应商的 SDS 提供的信息比其他 SDS 多。只有六家供应商中的一家提供了除二氧化硅以外的结晶矿物含量，只有两家供应商提供了有关金属的任何信息。对 AS 引起的肺部发病机制的了解仍然有限，本研究强调需要更全面和标准化的 SDS 信息来进行风险评估和管理。
