Alumina Toxicology

Introduction :

Occurs in nature as the minerals bauxite, bayerite, corundum, diaspore, gibbsite.

Types :

I- Alumina or Aluminium Oxide, Al₂O₃. This oxide exists in several forms :

*Alpha-Al₂O₃, the pure form obtained by calcination at high temperature.

*Beta-Al₂O₃, is the compound Na₂O.Al₂O₃

*Gamma-Al₂O₃, stable to about 1000 C and contains traces of water or hydroxyl ions.

II-Alumina Hydroxide (Aluminium Hydrate, Aluminium Trihydrate, Hydrated Alumina),

Al(OH)3 or AlH3O₃.

Uses :

In the production of aluminium, refractory materials, synthetic abrasives etc, such as :

I-Alumina (Fused) :

In spite of its high m.p. (2050 C), alumina can be fused in an oxy-hydrogen flame or in an electric arc.By the former method, large single crystals (boules) can be produced; they are used as bearings, and as dies for wire-drawing, and for other purposes demanding high abrasion resistance. Fused alumina made in the electric arc furnaces is usually crushed, bonded with fine alumina powder, shaped and then sintered.

II-Alumina (Sintered) :

Alumina, sometimes containing a small amount of clay or of a mineralizer, and fired at a high temperature to form a dense ceramic. Sintered alumina has great strenght and abrasion resistance, high dielectric strenght, and low power factor.

III-Corundum (Emery) :

The only form of alumina that remains stable when heated above about 1000 C,

also known as alpha-alumina.

It occurs naturally, but impure, in S. Africa and elsewhere but generally it is produced by extraction from bauxite followed by a firing process at high temperature.

Toxicology :

In general, aluminas are efficiently eliminated from the lung and are considered to be nuisance dusts; their role in fibrogenic lung disease remains unclear.

High aluminium levels (between 400 and 1080 mg/kg of wet pulmonary tissue) have been found in the lungs of subjects exposed during 10 to 37 years to alumina dust.

Animal experiments indicate that prolonged inhalation of alumina involves a rise in the concentration of aluminium in the brain.

A review of the literature (1957), on the pulmonary toxicity of aluminium carried out in the USA concluded that aluminium, aluminium oxide and aluminium hydroxyde Al(OH)3 do not cause pulmonary effects; the lesions reported by some authors would result from the presence of other substances.

I-Pneumoconiosis :

A number of epidemiologic studies of aluminium smelter workers have confirmed either minimal or absent fibronodular disease and no excess mortality associated with pneumoconiosis.

The risk associated with chronic exposure to alumina dust (Al₂O₃) is not entirely elucidated. Some authors think that alumina can generate a pneumoconiosis (aluminosis) while others have recommended the use of powdered alumina by inhalation as a therapeutic and preventive method in the case of silicosis.

Italian studies suggest that chronic exposure to high concentrations of alumina can causea light pulmonary fibrogenic reaction and the presence of small opacities on the chest X-ray.

A few cases of fibrosis due to a prolonged exposure to alumina during the production of abrasives were reported. It does not seem that these workers were exposed to silica or asbestos.

II-Interstitial Fibrosis :

Studies seem to indicate that, independently from exposures to other pneumotoxicants, massive inhalation of aluminium or alumina can favor the development of interstitial fibrosis.

III-Industrial Bronchitis :

Excessive protracted nuisance dust exposure (100 mg/year for more than 20 years) has been accompanied by findings consistent with a minor degree of nonspecific chronic industrial bronchitis.

IV-Asthma :

An asthmatiform syndrome has been described among potroom workers attributed by some authors to the exposure to volatile fluorides.

A respiratory obstructive syndrome has also been described among workers involved in the manufacture of aluminium fluoride.

Quebec's Exposure Limits :

-	VEMP	Note
Aluminium, oxide expressed as Al	10mg/m3	Pt,

Pt : Poussière Totale (Total Dust), without asbestos fibers, and <1% crystalline silica.

References :

1-Occupational Medicine,Carl Zenz, last edition.

2-Clinical Environmental Health and Toxic Exposures, Sullivan & Krieger; last edition.

3-Sax's Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials, Lewis C., last edition.

4-Toxicologie Industrielle et Intoxications Professionnelles, Lauwerys R.R. last edition.

5-Chemical Hazards of the Workplace, Proctor & Hughes, 4th edition

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Typecodes	Article by Edouard Bastarache Edouard Bastarache is a well known doctor that has written many articles on the subject of toxicity of ceramic materials and books on technical aspects of ceramics. He writes in both English and French.
Materials	Alumina
Materials	Calcined Alumina
Materials	Alumina Hydrate
People	Edouard Bastarache

By Edouard Bastarache

Alumina Toxicology

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