Application of quantitative mineralogy to determine sources of airborne particles at a European copper smelter
Copper processing operations, such as smelters and refineries, can produce airborne particles that may impact the health of workers. At these operations, worker exposure to chemicals are regularly monitored to ensure that regulatory compliance with occupational exposure limit values (OELVs) are main...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Heliyon |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844023010101 |
| _version_ | 1797851943598555136 |
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| author | Michelle Kelvin Steven Verpaele Yamini Gopalapillai Craig Poland Matthew I. Leybourne Daniel Layton-Matthews |
| author_facet | Michelle Kelvin Steven Verpaele Yamini Gopalapillai Craig Poland Matthew I. Leybourne Daniel Layton-Matthews |
| author_sort | Michelle Kelvin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Copper processing operations, such as smelters and refineries, can produce airborne particles that may impact the health of workers. At these operations, worker exposure to chemicals are regularly monitored to ensure that regulatory compliance with occupational exposure limit values (OELVs) are maintained. Determining the type of airborne particles present is important for characterizing the composition of dust exposures and better understanding the relationship between worker exposure and health. Routine methods of analysis (e.g., chemical assay) are unable to differentiate between phases containing the same elements and may result in ambiguity. A novel approach of a combination of Quantitative Evaluation of Materials by Scanning Electron Microscope (QEMSCAN) and chemical characterization was used here to evaluate airborne and settled dust collected at key locations throughout a copper smelter in Europe. The copper (Cu) phases present in the airborne dust are indicative of the activities performed at specific locations. In the batch preparation area where Cu concentrate is received, significant amounts of Cu were carried in sulfidic minerals (chalcocite, chalcopyrite/bornite, >40%), whereas near the anode and electric furnace, the majority of Cu in dust was carried in metallic and oxidic phases (60–70%). Particle size analysis of the settled dust indicates that the sulfidic and oxidic Cu minerals are more likely to become airborne over metallic Cu. Furthermore, overall Cu concentrations decreased with particle size where metallic and oxidic Cu dominate, which suggests that differences in the proportion of Cu forms present in the dust will impact how much Cu ends up in the respirable fraction. These results highlight the need to understand the characterization of Cu in dust in order to set better OELVs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T19:26:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d92e0f8738dc498dab9629e8bf4a4f69 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T19:26:02Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj.art-d92e0f8738dc498dab9629e8bf4a4f692023-04-05T08:16:46ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402023-03-0193e13803Application of quantitative mineralogy to determine sources of airborne particles at a European copper smelterMichelle Kelvin0Steven Verpaele1Yamini Gopalapillai2Craig Poland3Matthew I. Leybourne4Daniel Layton-Matthews5Department of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering, Queen's University, 36 Union Street, Kingston K7L 3N6, Ontario, Canada; Corresponding author.Health, Environment and Public Policy Department, Nickel Institute, Rue Belliard 12, 1040 Brussels, Belgium; Belgian Center for Occupational Hygiene (BeCOH), Technologiepark 122, 9052 Ghent, BelgiumInternational Copper Association, 7918 Jones Branch Drive, Suite 300, McLean, VA 22102, USARegulatory Compliance Limited, 6 Dryden Road, Loanhead, Midlothian, EH20 9TY, UK; Centre for Inflammation Research, University of Edinburgh, Queen's Medical Research Institute, 47 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh, EH16 4TJ, UKDepartment of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering, Queen's University, 36 Union Street, Kingston K7L 3N6, Ontario, Canada; Arthur B. McDonald Canadian Astroparticle Physics Research Institute, Department of Physics, Engineering Physics & Astronomy, Queen's University, 64 Bader Lane, Kingston K7L 3N6, Ontario, CanadaDepartment of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering, Queen's University, 36 Union Street, Kingston K7L 3N6, Ontario, CanadaCopper processing operations, such as smelters and refineries, can produce airborne particles that may impact the health of workers. At these operations, worker exposure to chemicals are regularly monitored to ensure that regulatory compliance with occupational exposure limit values (OELVs) are maintained. Determining the type of airborne particles present is important for characterizing the composition of dust exposures and better understanding the relationship between worker exposure and health. Routine methods of analysis (e.g., chemical assay) are unable to differentiate between phases containing the same elements and may result in ambiguity. A novel approach of a combination of Quantitative Evaluation of Materials by Scanning Electron Microscope (QEMSCAN) and chemical characterization was used here to evaluate airborne and settled dust collected at key locations throughout a copper smelter in Europe. The copper (Cu) phases present in the airborne dust are indicative of the activities performed at specific locations. In the batch preparation area where Cu concentrate is received, significant amounts of Cu were carried in sulfidic minerals (chalcocite, chalcopyrite/bornite, >40%), whereas near the anode and electric furnace, the majority of Cu in dust was carried in metallic and oxidic phases (60–70%). Particle size analysis of the settled dust indicates that the sulfidic and oxidic Cu minerals are more likely to become airborne over metallic Cu. Furthermore, overall Cu concentrations decreased with particle size where metallic and oxidic Cu dominate, which suggests that differences in the proportion of Cu forms present in the dust will impact how much Cu ends up in the respirable fraction. These results highlight the need to understand the characterization of Cu in dust in order to set better OELVs.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844023010101CopperOccupational exposureSmeltingQuantitative evaluation of materials by scanning electron microscope |
| spellingShingle | Michelle Kelvin Steven Verpaele Yamini Gopalapillai Craig Poland Matthew I. Leybourne Daniel Layton-Matthews Application of quantitative mineralogy to determine sources of airborne particles at a European copper smelter Heliyon Copper Occupational exposure Smelting Quantitative evaluation of materials by scanning electron microscope |
| title | Application of quantitative mineralogy to determine sources of airborne particles at a European copper smelter |
| title_full | Application of quantitative mineralogy to determine sources of airborne particles at a European copper smelter |
| title_fullStr | Application of quantitative mineralogy to determine sources of airborne particles at a European copper smelter |
| title_full_unstemmed | Application of quantitative mineralogy to determine sources of airborne particles at a European copper smelter |
| title_short | Application of quantitative mineralogy to determine sources of airborne particles at a European copper smelter |
| title_sort | application of quantitative mineralogy to determine sources of airborne particles at a european copper smelter |
| topic | Copper Occupational exposure Smelting Quantitative evaluation of materials by scanning electron microscope |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844023010101 |
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