Study of Heavy Metals Toxicity Level in Workplace Atmosphere by Alternative Methods

Abstract

Abstract Promoting safety and health at work, as part of the overall improvement of working conditions, is an important strategy, not only to ensure well-being of workers, but also to make a positive contribution to productivity. Health, safety and well-being of workers are therefore prerequisites for improving quality and productivity and are important for equitable and sustainable socio-economic development. Toxicological investigation of an industrial objective involves both knowledge of working conditions and the dynamic establishment of occupational pollutants in the workplace atmosphere, as well as bio-toxicological evaluation, being a synthetic representation of the aggressiveness of pollutants entering the body by various paths (respiratory, cutaneous, digestive, etc.) with reference, at the same time, to the adaptability of respective employees. Evaluation of the toxicological investigation has a role in following the evolution of working conditions and health of employees in time, potential technological changes with possible impact on employees’ health, as well as if new conditions occur, requiring the completion of previous toxicological investigations. Use of heavy metals in different industries has increased the quality of products from different production sectors but on the other hand also led to an increase in the toxicity of workplace atmosphere, which requires an assessment of the negative impact produced. The current paper aims at an alternative analysis of the determination of heavy metals content (Cu, Cd, Pb, Ni, Cr) in workplace atmosphere, using, on one hand, the method of spectroscopy of atomic emissions with inductively coupled plasma and, on the other hand, fluorescence with X rays. Following statistical processing of data gathered by the two alternative methods, the accuracy, reproducibility, relative standard deviation as well as the fidelity of methods expressed by the coefficient of variation will be established.