Exposure Assessment During the Industrial Formulation and Application of Photocatalytic Mortars Based on Safer n-TiO2 Additives
Author/s
Vaquero, Celina; Esteban-Cubillo, Antonio; Santaren, Julio; López de Ipiña, Jesús; Galarza, Nekane; [et al.]Date
2020-03Keywords
Photocatalytic
Nano-TiO2
Aerosol
Inhalation exposure
Safe by design
Abstract
Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (n-TiO2) are added to photocatalytic mortars to improve urban air quality. Their activity can be increased by dispersing and binding them on natural sepiolite surface. Workers handling photocatalytic additives can be exposed to n-TiO2. However, the release of nanoparticles to the workplace can be different if the material used is raw n-TiO2 powders or if the nanoparticles are supported on sepiolite. In this work, we compare occupational exposure to n-TiO2 for raw n-TiO2 and a hybrid additive n-TiO2/sepiolite obtained by a proprietary process. Measurements were performed in two industrial sites that process 1 ton batches of mortars, formulated with the same quantity of n-TiO2, followed by their application outdoors. Direct reading instruments were used to monitor particle number concentration and size distribution. Simultaneously, filter-based samples were collected for mass concentration and microscopy analysis. Two tasks produced a significant release of ...
Type
journal article