Human Exposure to Chromium Fumes

A. I'm no chemical expert, but I was a plater, and ran hard chrome many years ago.....

Chrome by its nature is nasty stuff ... no doubt your already aware of that ... but even the most rudimentary setups I've seen have run exhaust. Also, the mist tends to rise to ceiling level, which cause things "up there" to get the corrosion ... something tells me if someone had 20 years of bad chrome exposure they would have known about it 10 yr back.

I know OSHA has exposure meters ... my past experience with them tells says if they thought there was even a remote possibility of overexposure then employees would have been wearing meters.

A. We are people from the plating industry here, Ms. Salisbury, not M.D.s or epidemiologists, so take it only for what it's worth please, but . . .

1). I doubt that the corrosion of the sprinklers was caused by the chrome plating bath itself. Chromium plating solutions are not very corrosive to metal; in fact, plain sheet metal ducting is/was frequently used for exhausting and conveying away the mists; and chromate passivation solutions which are somewhat similar to chrome plating solutions are used as a corrosion preventative. The sprinklers were probably corroded by fumes from a muriatic (hydrochloric) acid stripping or pickling solution.

2). Employees in most plating shops do not wear respirators against chrome plating fumes. Wearing a respirator all day is a hellish way to work. But chrome plating solutions *should* have local exhaust hoods and utilize *fume suppressants*.

3). Yes, chrome plating fumes are seriously unhealthful! It has been established since 1928 that they can cause slow-healing sores known as "chrome ulcers", and nasal perforations known as "chrome holes". For many years the fumes have been considered a possible carcinogen. I think they are now considered either a probable or proven carcinogen, but this is a determination you would have to get from NIOSH, not from me.

4). As general background on how dangerous chrome plating fumes are or aren't, I highly recommend NIOSH Technical Report 85-102, "Control Technology Assessment: Metal Plating & Cleaning Operations" which summarizes and references numerous studies of the subject over the last 60 years.

Regards, and best of luck,

A. This is my opinion.

OSHA has the choice on how to handle the complaint of the sprinklers. They were replaced, so there is no longer a fire hazard. File closed. A knowledgeable case worker might have wanted to look at the larger problem, but is not obligated to.

EPA is responsible for the clean air act. While this is primarily aimed at what leaves the building, i.e., scrubber efficiency, the solid waste section is interested in a build up of chrome in other places that is haz waste and is not being properly or timely handled. Not too many inspectors want to travel into this uncharted water. They are checklist followers and that is not in their checklist.

I do believe that OSHA did put into effect a chrome protocol which involves a lot of record keeping and annual physicals. This is quite similar to the cadmium protocol that went into effect about 10 years ago.

In short, you'll have to ask the right question to the right agency.

A. I am an unabashed tree-hugger, but in a chrome plating shop, I would guess it was the hydrochloric acid fumes that ate away the sprinkler heads, not the chrome fumes.

So the long term health of the workers in that shop may not be obvious, since even well-ventilated shops have enough acid around to corrode nickel and chromium plated steel.

A. OSHA limit chromium (VI) to 100 micrograms per cubic metre for any period, and NOISH 1 microgram for a 10 hour day.

Plating with chromic acid can cause Ulceration of the skin and nasal lining and Occupational cancer this from our COSHH reg's they require regular medical inspections and records kept.

If the sprinkler is corroded by hydrochloric acid, and not chrome fumes then it's still not healthy.

I agree with you that exposure to hydrochloric acid fumes is not good for one's health, Ian! But I live along a salt water lagoon, Ian. Everything metallic, whether it be deck furniture or an iron fireplace, corrodes quite rapidly. I'm only saying that the degree of corrosion in a plating shop is not necessarily a valid indication of whether or not the conditions are causing long term damage to workers' health.

Wearing chrome exposure monitors, and possibly HCl monitors, seems a better indicator

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

A. Hi, Mark. Very sorry for your hardships. Yes, chromic acid compounds are *very* dangerous, universally recognized as such for 100 years in countless studies; they are probably carcinogenic, probably responsible for your nosebleeds, and possibly responsible for some or all of your other symptoms.

Erin Brockovich has been mentioned on more than 50 threads on this site -- people are agreeing with you. Chromic acid is H2CrO4 and dry chromic acid flake is CrO3 and in any case the chromium is definitely hexavalent.

Even still, it is inappropriate to call other people "idiots" and "slow on the uptake", especially when it is you who has misunderstood them, not they who have misunderstood you, and when you are wrong. These posters have spent their careers traveling from plating shop to plating shop and have been to hundreds of them and are just trying to tell people that metal corrosion is NOT a good indication of the presence pf chrome fumes, nor is lack of corrosion an indication of a safe environment :-(

But consider that the sheet metal ductwork for chrome exhaust hoods and fans was, for decades, made of plain steel --because, as dangerous as hexavalent chromium is to people, it is not very corrosive to metal. The way to deal with chromium fumes is to control them with properly designed systems, and monitor the operators and their surrounding environment, and keep a watchful eye for signs of chrome in the area -- which include yellow dusts, and orange stains and burns -- and not be misled by corrosion or lack of corrosion because chromium, including chromic acid, is not corrosive to steel.

Regards,

? Hi, David. Although the situation you are trying to describe is clear to you, I am not following it. Please spend a few paragraphs so people can try to help you. A rooftop vat (a reservoir on a cooling tower, maybe?) mixed with roofing material (by overflowing or something?). Whose contact lenses were damaged, a roofer or occupants of the building? Someone has COPD that they feel may have been caused by working on this roof or living in this building? 30 tears = 30 years? Please take it from the top. Thanks.

P.S.: I have COPD as well, but so did my father and so does my sister, and they've never been near a chrome plating shop ... but all three of us smoked. Again, I'm not saying chromium fumes are not dangerous -- they certainly are! But if someone smoked, and now has COPD, blaming it on possible exposure to chrome might be just an excuse. In addition to being careful about exposure to chromium, don't smoke!

Regards,