Some hygienic observations from the glass industry

Summary

Metallic compounds and other agents used in the manufacturing of glass are probably responsible for the cancer risks observed for glassworkers, especially glassblowers. Few hygienic observations have been reported from the art glass industry. Three glassworks were therefore studied with regard to air concentrations of lead, arsenic, nickel and manganese. The hygienic conditions of the blow-pipes were investigated at these glassworks and another two with regard to inside deposits of slag containing lead, arsenic, manganese and nickel as possible transporters that cause oral exposure. Atomic absorption spectrophotometry was used for the analyses. Apart from lead, the metal concentrations in the air were around the detection limit. Glassworks producing heavy crystal glass usually had higher concentrations of lead in the air than the semi-crystal glassworks. Seven out of 12 samples from heavy crystal glassworks exceeded the Swedish threshold limit of 50 μg/m³, while only four out of 28 samples from the semi-crystal glassworks exceeded this limit. Regarding metals in the slag from inside the blow-pipes, the concentrations (geometrical means) of lead and nickel were higher in the heavy crystal glassworks (6.9 μg lead/mg slag, and 5.0 μg nickel/mg slag versus 0.7 μg lead/mg slag and 0.6 μg nickel/mg slag in semi-crystal glassworks, respectively). The concentration of arsenic was similarly low in the pipes from all the glassworks (∼ 0.30 μg/mg slag) and the concentration of manganese was only slightly higher in heavy crystal glassworks (5.4 μg/mg slag versus 3.6 μg/mg slag in semi-crystal glassworks).