Aerosols in the Workplace

Overview

An aerosol can be defined as a suspension of particles or droplets in air. Aerosols may include airborne dusts, mists, fumes, or smoke.

Suspended particle sizes may range from a few nanometers (nm) to hundreds of micrometers (µm) in diameter. For comparison a human hair may be between 20 to 180 µm in diameter. Particles can be manufactured or naturally occurring.

Aerosols in the workplace may pose both health and safety hazards. Aerosols are encountered across multiple industry sectors. Particles can be inhaled, absorbed by the skin, enter the eyes or be ingested. Factors such as particle size, composition, shape, and concentration, can determine whether particles can cause harm to workers. Harmful effects can be either short or long term. Safety hazards may include slips, fires, or explosions.

Research

NIOSH has carried out extensive aerosol research in exposure assessment, epidemiology, toxicology, risk mitigation, aerosol sampling and method development. This assists our understanding in:

• How aerosols are formed and transported through the workplace.
• Which workers may be most impacted and to what extent.
• The health implications to workers.
• The safety implications in the workplace.
• How to sample for and measure aerosols in the workplace.
• How to reduce or eliminate the health and safety hazards.

Resources

Below are some related resources based on NIOSH research.

Webpages

• Nanotechnology
• Silica
• Welding Fumes and Manganese

Reports

Mining products

• Dust Control Handbook for Industrial Minerals Mining and Processing. Second edition
• Best Practices for Dust Control in Coal Mining. Second edition

Search NIOSHTIC-2 Database

NIOSHTIC-2 is a searchable bibliographic database of publications, documents, grant reports, and journal articles. Suggested key words: aerosol, particulate matter, dust, mists, fume, exhaust, aerosol or dust sampling, aerosol or dust exposure, combustible dusts.