| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立臺灣大學 === 職業醫學與工業衛生研究所 === 86 === The health effect of lead exposure has frequently been studied
in lead-acid battery
manufacture. But relatively few studies focused on the effect
of sulfuric acid, which
is also used widely in this process. In addition to acute
effects such as eye irritation
and dental erosion, exposure to sulfuric acid may induce
respiratory cancers, including
laryngeal cancer and lung cancer, but there was no similar
evidence for nasal cancer.
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) recommended exposure to
strong inorganic acid mists including sulfuric acid as group 1
human carcinogen in
1992. However, these studies were in lack of accurate or appropriate exposure
measurements. In 1995, three cases of nasopharyngeal cancer were reported in a
tele-communication company. It was suspected that they were
related to exposure to
sulfuric acid mists. The objective of this study was to
determine the air concentration
and particle sizes of sulfuric acid in lead acid battery factories.
This study selected three lead-acid battery plants, with one
employed less than 30
workers, another employed 30-100, while the last one employed
more than 100. We
used three sampling methods including silica gel tube, 37-mm
filter cassette, and
Andersen eight-stage impactor to collect airborne sulfuric
acids, which were later
analyzed by ionic chromatography with an IONPAC AS4A Analytic column (Dionex
Corp., Sunnyvale, CA, U.S.A.). The result showed that the
silica gel tube had the best
sampling efficiency. Concentrations of sulfuric acid in silica
gel tube were 15.5 to
394.4 mg/m3 in Factory A, 11.1 to 64.2 mg/m3 in Factory B, and
30.9 to 99.8 mg/m3 in
Factory C. Concentrations in the forming and cleaning
operations were higher than
other areas and their particle sizes were in general bigger
(MMAD=6-11 mm). The
result of this preliminary exposure assessment may help outline
the epidemiological
study for sulfuric acid related effects in the future.
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