Ultrafine particles and chemical risk in automobile repair shops

In automobile repair shops (or garage) activity, it is necessary to undertake a detailed assessment of the health risks (e.g., chemicals for work procedures). The worker may be exposed to welding fumes during assembly procedures (welding operation), and to sanding dust and solvents (e.g., toluene, xylenes, isocyanates, styrene and pigments) contained in grouts. The exposure degree depends on the mode of use, the amount used, the rate of use and personal protective equipment. The staff responsible performs interventions ranging from simple maintenance to repairs. For chemical agent measurements, it is necessary to use standardized methods or appropriate methods; regarding the ultrafine particles, it should be better to obtain information as possible in terms of number and trend. In this paper the working procedures such as machines sanding and painting are deeply investigated. These processes result in high chemical risk (Volatile Organic Compounds, VOCs) and production of ultrafine particles that can be harmful to exposed workers. No significant critical situations have been evidenced either as weighted averages in turn as both short term exposure, despite the fact that during operations some solvents (e.g., 1,2- dichloropropane) reach levels close to the STEL limit. For the airborne particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5, PM1 and respirable fraction) values lower than the limit values are observed. Further, the behavior of each fraction is shown and commented. Even if the indoor air quality in different garages investigated is not critical with regards to ultrafine particles and VOCs, the situation described above shows that the chemical risk in the garage sector cannot be considered negligible. In addition, it highlights the need to continuously monitor the particle component in relation to the worker exposure.