Airborne exposure to inhalable hexavalent chromium in welders and other occupations: Estimates from the German MEGA database

This study aimed to estimate occupational exposure to inhalable hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) using the exposure database MEGA. The database has been compiling Cr(VI) concentrations and ancillary data about measurements at German workplaces. We analysed 3659 personal measurements of inhalable Cr(VI) collected between 1994 and 2009. Cr(VI) was determined spectrophotometrically at 540 nm after reaction with diphenylcarbazide. We assigned the measurements to pre-defined at-risk occupations using the information provided about the workplaces. Two-thirds of the measurements were below the limit of quantification (LOQ) and multiply imputed according to the distribution above LOQ. The 75th percentile value was 5.2 μg/m3 and the 95th percentile was 57.2 μg/m3. We predicted the geometric mean for 2 h sampling in the year 2000, and the time trend of Cr(VI) exposure in these settings with and without adjustment for the duration of measurements. The largest dataset was available for welding (N = 1898), which could be further detailed according to technique. The geometric means were above 5 μg/m3 in the following situations: spray painting, shielded metal arc welding, and flux-cored arc welding if applied to stainless steel. The geometric means were between 1 μg/m3 and 5 μg/m3 for gas metal arc welding of stainless steel, cutting, hard-chromium plating, metal spraying and in the chemical chromium industry. The exposure profiles described here are useful for epidemiologic and industrial health purposes. Exposure to Cr(VI) varies not only between occupations, but also within occupations as shown for welders. In epidemiologic studies, it would be desirable to collect exposure-specific information in addition to the job title.