Toxicological and hygienic characteristics of air in the working zone of non-ferrous metals production

Introduction. The enrichment of polymetallic ores at the present stage requires the introduction of new technologies for more complete extraction of metals from minerals, which may be accompanied by the release of concentrations of chemicals exceeding permissible levels into the air environment of industrial premises.

The study aims to carry out a hygienic assessment of the air of industrial premises during cobalt refining.

Materials and methods. The air environment was characterized at the workplaces of metallurgists engaged in pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical refining of cobalt at one of the metallurgical enterprises of the Murmansk region. The authors have conducted studies on the hygienic assessment of workplace air in a standard way using individual samplers during 75.0% of the work shift time. The metals were measured using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry.

Results. At all stages of pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical processing of polymetallic ore, the presence of a complex of harmful substances of complex composition has been established, where the most significant are water-soluble and water-insoluble compounds of cobalt and nickel. Water-soluble cobalt and nickel compounds in the air of the production rooms of the extraction department were determined at concentrations of 0.110 and 0.011 mg/m³, exceeding the MPC by 11.0 and 2.3 times. In the air of the industrial premises of the department of electrical extraction — 0.029 and 0.005 mg/m³, exceeding the maximum permissible concentration by 2.9 and 1.03 times. The detected compounds of copper, lead, cadmium, iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum and zinc in the air of industrial premises at all stages of processing copper-nickel ore did not exceed the maximum permissible concentration.

Limitations. The study is limited to 342 samples of industrial premises air.

Conclusion. Cobalt production, when switching to modern technology, can pose a real threat to the health of workers in this production. The need to develop a special methodology for the hygienic rationing of toxic metal compounds (nickel, cobalt, copper) in inhaled aerosol fractions of workplace air in enclosed industrial premises requires the use of correct models to assess and manage the risks of their harmful effects.

Ethics. The study does not require the submission of a conclusion from the biomedical Ethics Committee or other documents.

Contributions:
Shilov V.V. — concept, editing and approval of the final version of the article;
Nikanov A.N. — collection and statistical processing of the material, editing of the article;
Kovshov A.A. — statistical processing of the material and editing of the article;
Barinov V.A. — research concept and design, editing;
Gudkov A.B. — editing the article;
Ermolin S.P. — statistical processing of the material, editing of the article;
All co-authors — are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the article.

Funding. The study had no funding.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Received: 24.04.2025 / Accepted: 30.05.2025 / Published: 05.07.2025

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