Caracteristicas da poeira do processo de fabricação de materiais ceramicos para revestimento : estudo no polo de Santa Gertrudes / Characteristics of dust from the manufacturing process of ceramic materials for tiles : study in the Santa Gertrudes complex

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2007

RESUMO

Dust generated in the process of manufacturing ceramic materials may be a hazardous agent to the health of workers, especially when silica polymorphs in crystal forms of ?-quartz and cristobalite are present in its composition. Occupational exposure to respirable dust of such polymorphs may lead to the onset of lung disease named silicosis and other associated diseases. In the ceramic wall and floor tiles industry data on the characteristics of dust generated in their processes and on the prevalence of silicosis in the sector are not sufficient to define the magnitude of occupational exposure risk to silica in this industry. This field study aims to identify physical parameters and the mass concentration and the composition in crystalline silica of airborne particulate material in industries of glazed ceramic tiles for floors and walls. Nine plants in Santa Gertrudes Municipality, São Paulo State, with dry manufacturing process, where the main raw material is red clay from the Corumbataí Formation have been selected. The study was conducted through systematic observation of the industrial process steps with dust generation, the collection and analysis of air samples from the environments and the mineralogical analysis of the raw ceramic bodies manufactured. Dust samples were analyzed with gravimetric and X-ray diffractometry (XRD) techniques. The air samples indicated that there was dust in the respirable fraction (<10 µm) and the ?-quartz was identified in 72% of the analyzed respirable dust samples. Other polymorphs of the crystalline silica were not found in the collected dust. The dust samples indicated concentrations of respirable ?-quartz between 0.01 mg/m³ and 0.16 mg/m³ in the main stages of the process. The mean concentration of respirable ?-quartz in the sectors of clay grinding was 0.06 mg/m³, in the pressing sectors it was 0.03 mg/m³, in the glazing lines it was 0.02 mg/m³ and in the preparation of enamels and engobe sectors it was 0.09 mg/m³. Minerals of the group of the micas, feldspars and smectite had been identified by XRD in the composition of all the ceramic masses, together with hematite and quartz, as the predominant mineral

ASSUNTO(S)

ceramica - industria crystalline silica occupational exposure revestimentos dust workplace assessment poeira ambiente de trabalho silica materiais de construção ceramic tiles

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