Past Occupational Exposure to Airborne Manganese in a Manganese Alloy Plant

Abstract

A retrospective exposure assessment of a group of manganese (Mn) alloy workers was performed in conjunction with a 2004 follow-up study, 14 years after cessation of exposure, to evaluate the long-term effects of occupational Mn exposure on neurobehavioral functions. The ferro- and silico-Mn alloy plant opened in 1973 and closed in 1991. The airborne total Mn (TMn) exposures for job groupings were established using personal sampling data from a 1991 industrial hygiene survey. Historical short-term total dust (TDust) data were used to estimate past TDust exposure for job groupings and plant areas. Relationships between Mn content and TDust from the 1991 survey, supported by sparse historical data, were used to estimate TMn content in the historical TDust data. Results showed past personal TDust exposure levels much higher than those found in 1991. Changes in TDust levels and corresponding TMn levels were a function of changes in ventilation, work practices, and operations, not of product (ferro- or silico-Mn). Relationships between TMn and respirable Mn (RMn) from area sampling in 1991 were used to estimate RMn exposure for the job groups. Work histories for 112 workers were developed from payroll records, questionnaires, and interviews and combined with Mn exposure estimates to develop cumulative exposure indices (CEIs). The TMn CEI ranged from 0.27 mg/m ³ × years to 100.24 mg/m ³ × years, with an AM of 24.40 mg/m ³ × years and a GM of 14.06 mg/m ³ × years. The RMn CEI had an AM of 2.95 mg/m ³ × years and a GM of 1.78 mg/m ³ × years with a range of 0.05–12.03 mg/m ³ × years. Overall average TMn exposure intensity, the TMn CEI divided by time worked in years for each worker, had an AM of 1.6 mg Mn/m ³ , a GM of 1.0 mg Mn/m ³ , range 0.02–6.2 6 mg Mn/m ³ . The results of the 2004 follow-up study showed several concentration-response relationships between TMn CEI and neurobehavioral outcomes, which suggest that increase in cumulative TMn exposure level has long-term consequences on the nervous system.

Keywords:

• cumulated exposure
• ferro-manganese
• manganese
• retrospective exposure assessment
• silico-manganese

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors wish to acknowledge the contribution of the workers who participated in the 1990–1991 study and the 2004 follow-up; their collaboration and recollections of past events were invaluable in the interpretation and assessment of the historical data and records.

Financial support for this work was supplied by the Institut de recherché Robert Sauvé en santé et sécurité au travail (1990–1991 study) and grant #117076 from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) for the 2004 follow-up study. Maryse Bouchard received a scholarship from CIHR.