Comprehensive hygienic assessment of the dust factor in the manufacturing heat-insulating building products from man-made mineral fibers

Introduction. Air pollution with aerosols of mineral fibers in the manufacturing heat-insulating building products is the primary harmful production factor that can increase the risks of developing several diseases of various organs and systems. It determines the relevance of conducting comprehensive studies of the dust factor in such industries, assessing the relationship between mass measurements and fibre counts, the development of targeted preventive measures, considering the features of the technological process.

The study aims to conduct comprehensive hygienic studies of the dust factor in the manufacturing heat-insulating building products from basalt fiber and determine the morphological features of dust at different stages of the technological process, the presence of a relationship between mass measurements and fibre counts.

Materials and methods. The studies were carried out based on manufacturing heat-insulating building products from basalt fiber. To assess the dust factor, the authors carried out the analysis of mass measurements of dust and fibre counts using phase-contrast light microscopy. The authors used linear regression analysis to study the dependence of the mass measurements and fibre counts.

Results. The mass measurements of dust in the working area don't exceed hygienic standards and ranges from 0.51 mg/m³ to 1.19 mg/m³, and the fibre counts are from 0.45 f/cm³ to 1.23 f/cm³. The morphological analysis of the dust samples' preparations collected on filters from the air of the working area made it possible to reveal the characteristic features of the composition of the dust at various stages of the technological process. The study confirmed a positive correlation of weak strength between fibre counts and the mass measurements. The resulting dependence model is statistically significant, but the coefficient of determination of this model (R²) is 0.043. Fibre counts in the first phase of the production cycle are significantly higher than in the second. Simultaneously, the mass measurements do not have significant differences in different phases of the production cycle.

Conclusions. There is a positive correlation of weak strength between fibre counts and mass measurements, but the resulting linear regression model can explain only 4.3% of the variation of fibre counts based on the mass measurements, which does not allow using this model for converting of the results of measurements of several particles.

Microscopy of dust preparations makes it possible to determine the morphological picture characteristic of various stages of the technological process. Fibre counts depend on the phase of the production cycle. The data obtained can be used to design air purification systems and operating modes at various stages of the technological process.

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