Arsenic exposure in welding processes often occurs when source ores contain a compound with elements such as copper, lead, cobalt and gold as a byproduct. Heat-based applications involving the welding, smelting and refining of these ores can produce arsenic fumes. Arsenic is also found in alloys, along with lead and copper, in batteries, bearings, electrotype metal, ammunition, automobile body solder, and corrosion-resistant materials. Arsenic, a highly purified metal, is useful in semiconductor applications. However, it is a known carcinogen.
The NIOSH 7900 standard, developed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), defines a test method for the detection of arsenic compounds.
Arsenic and arsenic compounds have been commercially produced and used for centuries. To date, arsenic has been involved in pharmaceuticals, wood preservatives, agricultural chemicals, and applications in mining, metallurgy, glassmaking, and the semiconductor industries. Arsenic and arsenic compounds are also used in the production of pigments and leather preservatives, in paints, soaps, ceramics, automotive solders and radiator alloys, and as anti-pollution agents in electrophotography . Until recently, approximately 90 percent of arsenic was used in wood preservative production. However, the use of arsenic in wood preservatives has also led to environmental pollution, and chromated copper arsenate is no longer used in residential applications.
Mining, smelting of non-ferrous metals and burning of fossil fuels are major sources of arsenic contamination of air, water and soil. Arsenic-containing pesticides have contaminated large agricultural lands. It is estimated that about one-third of the global atmospheric arsenic flux comes from natural sources. Volcanic activity is the most important natural contribution. Arsenic exists mainly in the form of inorganic particles in the air of urban and industrial areas. Inhalation of arsenic-containing particles is the primary route of occupational exposure.
The main industrial activities where workers are exposed to arsenic are coal-fired power plants, battery assembly, pressure-processed wood preparation, glass manufacturing, and the electronics industry. Estimates of the number of workers potentially exposed to arsenic and arsenic compounds are monitored by NIOSH and OSHA.
Our organization also provides arsenic compounds testing services within the scope of NIOSH 7900 standard, with its trained and expert staff and advanced technological equipment, among the numerous test, measurement, analysis and evaluation studies it provides for businesses in various sectors.
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