Lead Exposure in a Petroleum Refinery During Maintenance and Repair Activities

Exposure to inorganic lead (Pb) may result in a petroleum refinery when paints that contain Pb are disturbed. Frequently performed activities that disturb paint include welding, burning, cutting, abrasive blasting, sanding, grinding, and needle gun chipping. The purpose of the study reported in this article was: to determine the Pb content of paint on metal surfaces in a petroleum refinery; to measure air Pb concentrations during abrasive blasting, torch cutting and burning, and power disk sanding/grinding on surfaces coated with Pb paint; and to evaluate the effectiveness of worker exposure controls by monitoring worker blood Pb (PbB) levels. Pb levels on representative metal surfaces were measured, and most painted surfaces were found to contain significant amounts of Pb. Personal air samples collected indicated that abrasive blasting and torch burning/cutting resulted in elevated air Pb levels, while short duration power disk sanding (less than 30 minutes duration) did not result in elevated air Pb levels as compared to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration permissible exposure limit. Despite these elevated air Pb levels, exposure controls including personal protective equipment, housekeeping, showering, work area isolation, and training effectively prevented elevated worker PbB levels.