An Innovative Filtering System for the Handling of Asbestos-Based Products: Improvement of Safety and Quality of Work in Analysis Laboratories

Our plain-English summary of An Innovative Filtering System for the Handling of Asbestos-Based Products: Improvement of Safety and Quality of Work in Analysis Laboratories, by O. Motta, C. Pironti, M. Venier, et al (Toxics, 2022).

The study

• Authors: O. Motta, C. Pironti, M. Venier, A. Proto
• Journal: Toxics
• Published: 2022;10(6)
• Cited by: 1 article, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Although being banned or restricted in many countries since the early 1990s, large quantities of asbestos are still used or present in building materials all over the world and its removal or handling requires specific systems that limit exposure to airborne fibers The exposure to asbestos causes chronic diseases such as asbestosis and lung cancer with an incubation period of 20 to 50 years. Among the operators most exposed to contamination are those who handle and analyze the materials in laboratories. For this reason, our work focused on an innovative method for removing a filter unit from a laboratory extraction hood, in order to improve the safety conditions for the operators and the surrounding environment. The hood has a particular construction technology with a mechanism that allows the spraying of a special encapsulating liquid on the ULPA filters below the work-bench, which is capable of forming a film and blocking the fibers on the surface of the same filter. The fibers are irreversibly bounded and can no longer be released into the surrounding environment. The monitoring of activity highlighted the absence of asbestos fibers in the air after installation of the filter and workers feel safer performing their activities. The introduction of an innovative filtering system enhanced the safety of work activities involving asbestos exposure, moreover, the time spent on the hood's maintenance and the risk perception of workers were improved.

In plain English

This technical note described a patented laboratory extraction hood designed for handling materials that contain asbestos. Before the hood's ULPA filter is removed for replacement, a circuit operated from outside the hood sprays the filter with a colored liquid glue. The glue hardens into a film that, according to the authors, binds the fibers so they can no longer be released. To check the system, the authors periodically sampled the air of the laboratory where the hood was installed and identified fibers by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM-EDS). All eight air samples, taken between July 2019 and July 2021, contained 0 fibers. The authors reported that earlier monitoring, before the new system was installed, had found asbestos fibers at concentrations below 0.1 ff/L, particularly during filter replacement. They also reported that operators who used the system felt better protected. The authors concluded that the system fully satisfied the safety requirement for asbestos risk in workplaces handling asbestos-containing products or samples.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Technical note describing a patented laboratory extraction hood and filter-removal system, with periodic air monitoring in the laboratory where it was installed
• Who was studied: Air in the laboratory where the hood with the new filter was installed; 8 air samples taken from 16 July 2019 to 16 July 2021. No human health outcomes were studied.
• Exposure: Airborne asbestos fibers from handling asbestos-containing materials and samples in an analysis laboratory, especially during replacement of the hood's filter. The article does not name specific fiber types.
• Main results:
  • Description of the system: before removal, the ULPA filter is sprayed with an encapsulating liquid that forms a film to hold the fibers on the filter.
  • Fibers in the air samples were identified and counted by SEM-EDS at 2000 magnification.
  • All 8 laboratory air samples taken after installation (16 July 2019 to 16 July 2021, volumes 3000 to 3707 L) showed 0 fibers.
  • Before the new system was installed, earlier monitoring had found asbestos fibers at concentrations below 0.1 ff/L, particularly during filter replacement.
  • The authors reported that operators who used the system felt better protected.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the proposed system fully satisfies the fundamental safety requirement concerning asbestos risk in workplaces handling asbestos-containing products or samples.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Lung Cancer, Asbestos Exposure.

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