SPECIATION OF AIRBORNE NICKEL IN OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURES

Speciation from airborne nickel is important because total nickel in air has not shown a dose-response relationship in occupational hazards. A preliminary monitoring of nickel process equipment showed varying Ni0: NiO(x) ratios in the range of 0.01-0.17. Further study involved air sampling on three levels of a trilevel nickel manufacturing building by two filter types: one group of three area stations and another group of three personal-type monitors, at each site. One sample of each filter group was analyzed by atomic absorption for total nickel, and the other two were analyzed for speciation of nickel as metallic Ni0, soluble salt Ni2+, and the insoluble oxides NiO(x), by adsorptive stripping voltammetry. These results and the analysis of variance performed have shown for the first time significant heterogeneity in airborne nickel concentrations and nickel species, which are important variables in occupational dose-response studies.