초록
The purpose of this study is to assess the accurate state of the following: total welding fumes versus welding fumes in the air, respirable particulate mass, and exposure of dockyard welders to heavy metals. In addition, this study provides basic data for proposing improvements to create efficient and appropriate welding environments and to prevent occupational diseases. The subjects of this study were 94 laborers who worked at the block construction sites of large-scale dockyards located in Gyeongnam Province from March 2005 to June 2005. In order to collect samples on total welding fumes in the air and respirable particulate mass from the welders, Methods 0500 and 0600, established by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), were used. The metals within the welding fumes were also analyzed using Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) under Method 7300 from NIOSH. The results of this research are summarized below. The geometric mean concentration of total welding fumes and that of respirable particulate mass were $4.11\;mg/m^3\;and\;3.53\;mg/m^3$, respectively. As a result of comparing the two measurement methods, there were significant differences (p<0.05) between the two groups for Ca, Cu, Cr, and Ni; however, there were no differences in Fe, Mg, Zn, Mg, Pb, and Cd. As a result of the analysis, the correlation between Mn and the concentration of heavy metals in the total welding fumes and respirable particulate mass was found to be -0.29, a significant negative correlation. The correlation between other heavy metals, however, was low. Finally, in the same total welding fumes, the correlation of Fe and Mg was high.
