Occupational exposure to volatile nitrosamines in foundries using the "Ashland" core-making process

Eight foundries using the "Ashland" process for the production of cores were surveyed to assess the occupational exposure to carcinogenic volatile nitrosamines. Personal and area samples were collected by means of artifact-free cartridges during the core-making and the molding/casting/shake-out operations. Analyses were carried out with gas chromatography/Hall detector and gas chromatography/TEA (thermal energy analyzer) for validation. The core-making workshops had the highest concentration for at least two nitrosamines, N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) and N-nitrosoethylmethylamine (NEMA), but the levels of NDMA never exceeded 0.35 microgram/m3 with an arithmetic mean between 0.23 and 0.02 microgram/m3. In a number of samplings, two other peaks, both on TEA and Hall detector, could not be identified. The foundries per se (molding/casting/shake-out) had lower nitrosamine levels (CNDMAmax = 0.15 microgram/m3, CNDMA less than 0.03 microgram/m3). For the first time NEMA was identified as an industrial contaminant in foundries but its concentration was always lower than that of NDMA. The nitrosamines found were presumably produced from dimethylethylamine (DMEA). Industries producing or using tertiary or secondary amines should be controlled for their possible nitrosamine contamination.