Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, WV, USA.
Division of Field Studies and Engineering, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Arch Environ Occup Health. 2023;78(2):118-126. doi: 10.1080/19338244.2022.2105287. Epub 2022 Aug 1.
Artificial countertop materials, including solid surface composites (SSC) and engineered stone (ES) may pose significant pulmonary health risks for workers who manipulate them. These materials have rapidly become popular in the multibillion-dollar countertop industry, rivaling that of natural materials such as granite and marble due to their variety of desirable esthetic qualities and reduced costs. Both SSC and ES consist of a mineral substrate bound together in a polymer matrix. For SSC the mineral is about 70% aluminum trihydrate (ATH) while ES contains up to 95% crystalline silica by weight. Both materials emit airborne dusts when being manipulated with power tools during the fabrication process. Several deaths and dozens of cases of silicosis have been identified worldwide in workers who fabricate ES, while a single case of fatal pulmonary fibrosis has been associated with SCC dust exposure. This review examines the current state of knowledge for both SSC and ES regarding the composition, particle emission characteristics, workplace exposure data, particle constituent toxicity, and possible methods for reducing worker exposure.
人造台面材料，包括固体表面复合材料（SSC）和人造石（ES），可能会对操作这些材料的工人的肺部健康造成重大风险。由于其具有各种理想的美学品质和降低的成本，这些材料在价值数十亿美元的台面行业中迅速流行起来，与天然材料如花岗岩和大理石相媲美。SSC 和 ES 均由矿物基底和聚合物基质结合而成。对于 SSC，矿物约为 70%三水合氧化铝（ATH），而 ES 中按重量计含有高达 95%的结晶二氧化硅。在制造过程中使用电动工具进行加工时，这两种材料都会释放出空气中的粉尘。在制造 ES 的工人中，全世界已经发现了几例死亡和数十例矽肺病例，而与 SCC 粉尘暴露相关的唯一一例致命性肺纤维化病例。本综述考察了目前关于 SSC 和 ES 的组成、颗粒排放特征、工作场所暴露数据、颗粒成分毒性以及减少工人暴露的可能方法的知识现状。
