TITANIUM DIOXIDE NANOPARTICLES: OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE LIMITS

Abstract

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is produced in Poland as a high production volume chemical (HPVC). It is used mainly as a pigment for paints and coatings, plastics, paper, and also as additives to food and pharmaceuticals. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles are increasingly applied in cosmetics, textiles and plastics as the ultraviolet light blocker. This contributes to a growing occupational exposure to TiO2 nanoparticles. Nanoparticles are potentially responsible for the most adverse effects of titanium dioxide. Due to the absence of separate fraction of nanoobjects and appropriate measurement methods the maximum admissible concentrations (MAC) for particles < 100 nm and nano-TiO2 cannot be established. In the world there are 2 proposals of occupational exposure levels for titanium dioxide nanoparticles: 0.3 mg/m3, proposed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and 0.6 mg/m3, proposed by experts of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). The authors of this article, based on the available data and existing methods for hygiene standards binding in Poland, concluded that the MAC value of 0.3 mg/m3 for nanoparticles TiO2 in the workplace air can be accepted.