Number

098-EN

Section

General Section

Use

Abstract

A manufacturer of accumulators for sanitation of water used vitrification furnaces covered with fireproof ceramic fibres of aluminosilicate. These fibres are carcinogen and workers, by advice of the regional union health and safety department, demanded their substitution. Wollastonite® was chosen as an alternative product. Wollastonite is a highly resistant calcium silicate used in coating compounds as an alternative to asbestos and artificial fibres.

Substituted substances

Alternative Substances

Reliability of information

Evidence of implementation: there is evidence that the solution was implemented and in use at time of publication

Reason substitution

CMR

Hazard Assessment

Substance to be substituted: The highly eliminated fibres (aluminosilicate refractory ceramic fibres) were highly dangerous (carcinogens by inhalation). Alternative substance: Natural wollastonite contains breathable fibres and employees would be exposed to short fibres. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers wollastonite a low hazard product.

Description of Substitution

A manufacturer of accumulators for sanitation of water used vitrification furnaces. The furnaces were covered with aluminosilicate fibres (possibly human carcinogen) resistant to high temperatures. A binding plastic resin (sensitiser) is used to bind the fibres to the furnace. The product is used both inside the furnace and in its open cooling area, where it is subject to physical damage caused by employees or machinery when containers pass through the rails. Fibres which fall to the floor or remain in the conveyor are removed manually or brushed by workers. Furthermore, there is an area affected by air currents, which favours the dispersion of fibres across the facility thus exposing employees by inhalation. Considering these factors the union’s regional health and safety department and ISTAs carried out a study on fire resistant fibres. Company managers chose as a substitute Wollastonite®, a calcium silicate used for highly resistant coatings as an alternative to asbestos and artificial fibres. Wollastonite® is biosoluble and resistant to high temperatures (melting point 1,540°C).

Case/substitution evaluation

Substitutes to asbestos are generally novel materials for which there is scarce or even no epidemiological information. Therefore, their level of safety is difficult to confirm. Lack of information on a given product must not be interpreted as a safety indicator. Health risks of alternatives to asbestos not only depend on their dose, dimensions, bio-persistence and surface of reaction, but also on dissolution by-products.

State of implementation

In use

Date and place of implementation

2008, Spain

Enterprise using the alternative

Sipejma

Availability of Alternative

On the market

Producer/Provider

"http://www.nycominerals.com" http://www.nycominerals.com http://www.nycominerals.com Distribuidor en España: http://www.imcdgroup.com/ www.imcdgroup.com https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wollastonite https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wollastonite

Type of information supplier

User

Contact

http://www.aragon.ccoo.es www.aragon.ccoo.es

Other solutions

A monohydrated calcium silicate [Ca6Si6O17(OH)2]. Similar composition and properties to wollastonite. Melting point 1,000º C. Melting point 260-270 ºC. Low hazard. b. An alternative to ceramic fireproof fibres would be the substitution by biosoluble fibres which biodegrade quickly in the human organism and are considered less hazardous to human health and to the environment. Mineral biosoluble wools must comply with Directive 97/69/EC and therefore exempt of any classification as carcinogen according to the note. The European Certificate (EUCEB) guarantees compliance with the criteria expressed by EU Directive 97/69/EC on the exemption of classification as carcinogens (www.euceb.org">http://www.euceb.org www.euceb.org ). There are three basic types of mineral biosoluble wools: • Glass wool • Stone wool • Slag wool The inconvenient aspect of this type of fibre is that they have lower resistance to temperature than fireproof ceramic fibres (they usually resist 710-750ºC / maximum 800ºC) Biosoluble fibres like mineral wools which comply with the exemption criteria of EU Directive 97/69/EC (note Q) can be a good alternative to fireproof ceramic fibres in the pre-heating, feeding lines and cooling areas (1 and 2). If such fibres have a certificate of biosolubility, it is recommended to request from the distributor the report on the exemptions tests to verify if the data are reliable. Some Spanish manufacturers of low-biopersistence mineral wool include: ISOVER: "www.isover.net">http://www.isover.net"">www.isover.net" www.isover.net">http://www.isover.net www.isover.net ROCKWOOL: "www.rockwool.es">http://www.rockwool.es"">www.rockwool.es" www.rockwool.es">http://www.rockwool.es www.rockwool.es URSA:"www.ursa.es">http://www.ursa.es">www.ursa.es " http://www.ursa.es">http://www.ursa.es">www.ursa.es www.ursa.es">http://www.ursa.es">www.ursa.es Manufacturers of artificial fibres and their associations as EURIMA (European Association) and AFELMA (Spanish Association) and ECFIA (EU) provide information guides on the adequate use of such products: AFELMA: "www.aislar.com">http://www.aislar.com"">www.aislar.com" www.aislar.com">http://www.aislar.com www.aislar.com (Spanish) EURIMA: "www.eurima.org">http://www.eurima.org"">www.eurima.org" www.eurima.org">http://www.eurima.org www.eurima.org

Further information

Technical Rule for Hazardous Substances (TRGS) 619 Substitute materials for aluminium silicate wool products, May 2013 https://www.baua.de/EN/Service/Legislative-texts-and-technical-rules/Rules/TRGS/TRGS-619.html">https://www.baua.de/EN/Service/Legislative-texts-and-technical-rules/Rules/TRGS/TRGS-619.html https://www.baua.de/EN/Service/Legislative-texts-and-technical-rules/Rules/TRGS/TRGS-619.html">https://www.baua.de/EN/Service/Legislative-texts-and-technical-rules/Rules/TRGS/TRGS-619.html

Date, reviewed

December 11, 2020