Review of an Extensive Ferrous Foundry Silica Sampling Program

Abstract

In response to a regulatory requirement to develop exposure records for workers exposed to silica, a corporation operating two ductile iron foundries embarked on an intensive silica sampling program. Over a 6-year period (1983 to 1988 inclusive) approximately 1000 respirable silica personal air samples were collected. Exposure categories were initially assigned according to job title. Later, criteria were developed to evaluate the representativeness of the data in each exposure category. To meet these criteria each exposure category had to:

1. have at least five measurements;

2. be subjectively judged to be representative;

3. have a geometric standard deviation of less than 2.5;

4. have no significant changes in process.

The experience drawn from this program illustrates the difficulty of achieving representative data in an industry that is constantly changing. Oudyk, J. D.: Review of an Extensive Ferrous Foundry Silica Sampling Program. Appl. Occup. Environ. Hyg. 10(4):331–340; 1995.