In this study we monitored exposure to airborne dust in workers performing various tasks at two biomass-fuelled thermal power plants (27 and 46 MW) over six years. The plants are mainly fuelled by forest wood chips and, to a lesser extent, by agro-food products, with annual consumption of about 300 and 450 kt. We focused on inhalable wood dust because of its potential carcinogenicity to humans. Worker exposure was assessed with personal samplers, drawing ambient air in their breathing zone to determine the real external dose of dust inhaled by the workers and the associated occupational risk. With but a few exceptions, exposure to inhalable wood dust complies to the limit of 2 mg/m3 given by the European Directives 2019/130 and 2017/2398. Further investigations will be necessary to obtain a larger number of measurements that allow for a more robust statistical investigation of the results.
U ovom smo istraživanju šest godina pratili izloženost lebdećim česticama drvne prašine u radnika na različitim poslovima u dvjema termoelektranama na biomasu snage 27 odnosno 46 MW. U objema se termoelektranama mahom za gorivo rabi mljeveno drvo te u manjoj mjeri otpadni poljoprivredno-prehrambeni proizvodi, a godišnja potrošnja doseže oko 300 odnosno 450 kt. Istraživanje se ograničilo na lebdeće drvne čestice koje mogu biti kancerogene za ljude. Izloženost radnika mjerena je osobnim skupljačima zraka u razini disanja ne bi li se utvrdila stvarna doza udahnute prašine i s njom povezani profesionalni rizik. Uz tek nekoliko iznimaka, izloženost drvnoj prašini bila je u skladu s graničnom vrijednosti od 2 mg/m3 propisanom europskim direktivama 2019/130 i 2017/2398. Potrebna su daljnja istraživanja s većim brojem mjerenja, koja bi omogućila robusniju statističku analizu.
Keywords: air monitoring; higijena rada; occupational health; osobni skupljači uzoraka; personal samplers; praćenje kakvoće zraka; procjena rizika; risk assessment.
© 2024 Giovanna Bregante et al., published by Sciendo.