Dermal exposure to chromium in electroplating

Objectives: The aim of the study was to measure the dermal and respiratory exposure levels of hexavalent chromium during electroplating work. Methods: Potential dermal exposure of the body was measured with patch samples and actual exposure of hands with hand-wash samples. For comparison, personal air samples were also collected. Results: The exposure varied widely between workers. The range of body and hand exposure to the electroplating solution was 0.17-28.1 mg/h and 0.04-6.37 mg/h, respectively. Hands and lower limbs were the most contaminated body parts. Conclusions: The results of breathing zone samples and dermal exposure did not correlate with each other. In manual electroplating processes, dermal exposure was higher than in semiautomatic and automatic processes. The amount of hexavalent chromium the workers were exposed to is probably high enough to cause a risk of skin sensitization.