Water-based cutting fluids contain many additives. Among the most important additives in terms of quantity are alkanolamines which have several uses, such as corrosion prevention, pH control and bacterial growth inhibition. However, they have adverse effects on workers’ health.
The most important alkanolamines in occupational exposure are monoethanolamine (MEA), diethanolamine (DEA) and triethanolamine (TEA):
- MEA is irritating to the skin, eyes and respiratory tract and can cause asthma and allergic rashes.
- DEA is irritating to the skin and eyes and may cause allergic rashes. In addition, with nitrites, DEA can form nitrosamines, which can cause cancer.
- TEA is irritating to the skin and eyes. It can cause allergic contact dermatitis, asthma and other respiratory allergies.
The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health has published the target level for total exposure to alkanolamines of 0.1 mg/m³ (8 hours). The AerOff Solution for Machine Tools effectively removes alkanolamines from machine tool exhaust air, in addition to other harmful compounds. Accredited measurements by TTL prove the cleaning efficiency. The AerOff Solution continues to clean the air from what the particulate filters are capable of. After the multi-step AerOff purification process, air quality is radically improved. The solution achieves levels below the target values set by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.
Our experts will be happy to answer your questions. Contact us: info@aeroff.fi
Source: Työterveyslaitos (2009): Metallityöstönesteiden alkanoliamiinien tavoitetasoperustelumuistio. https://www.ttl.fi/file-download/download/public/878 (in Finnish)