DEVELOPMENT OF A PROCEDURE FOR STUDIES OF THE CHROMIUM(III) AND CHROMIUM(VI) CONTENTS OF WELDING FUMES

A method for speciation studies of chromium in welding fumes is described. Separation of chromium(III) and chromium(VI) in aqueous extracts of welding fumes is obtained by using anion- and cation-exchange resins. Atomic absorption spectrometry is used for quantification. At pH 3-5, there is no loss of chromium(III) as the hydroxide nor reduction of chromium(VI) by iron(II). Two types of welding fumes were studied: for ESAB OK 67-52 and AROSTA 316 L fumes, 57 and 91%, respectively, of the total chromium content was water-soluble; the total chromium contents were 5.9 and 4.4%, respectively. Chromium(III) was not detected in the aqueous extracts of either type of fumes (< 0.010 μg ml-1 of extract). © 1979.