Project aim
The following issues will be intensively studied:
- The association of the MNMs in paint and paint overspray
- The relationship between nano- and sub-micro-sized particles and the release of MNMs from the overspray matrix
- The nature of the generated MNMs in paint overspray
With the obtained experimental data, the exposure of the application staff to a paint overspray in a practical paint booth will be estimated. Special focus will be drawn to manual spraying not in well-conditioned booths but in simple arrangement in handcraft, such as small car repairs, façade or wall painting, etc. The corresponding results will afterwards be reproduced in a rodent whole body exposure model for toxicological studies. Especially inhalation aspects will be regarded.
Finally, a risk assessment of paint aerosol exposure to the human body in industrial handcraft spray guns and industrial painting will be carried out, using experimental investigations and numerical simulations.
Based on the obtained results, it will be possible to determine health-related particle size fractions of the alveolar, thoracic and inhalable fractions of the airborne material in a spray jet and the association of MNMs, in dependency of the interaction between MNMs and paint matrix. With this knowledge and based on the database of toxicity of MNMs from literature it will be possible to assess the risks and toxic effects of a paint aerosol exposure to the human body for a given spray gun and paint material.
Together with numerical predictions, the on-site experiments for paint overspray at a working place will provide important information about the overspray concentration and particle size distribution in a paint booth. These results will be useful to optimize air ventilation and to create a sound basis for the risk management in the processing of paints with nanomaterials.