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Cobalt metal dust and fume

Airborne cobalt metal dust and fume generated during metal processing, grinding, and high-temperature work.

Airborne form

fume

The form describes what is suspended in air at the point of exposure. A material can produce more than one form, such as dust during handling and fume during heating.

Health effects

coughbreathing difficultywheezingdecreased pulmonary functiondermatitisasthmarespiratory hypersensitivitydiffuse nodular fibrosis

Evidence

The current NIOSH Pocket Guide explicitly identifies cobalt metal dust and cobalt metal fume as the airborne forms, gives a 0.05 mg/m3 NIOSH REL, and warns that finely divided dust can burn at high temperatures.

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Synonyms and Trade Names; Exposure Limits; Physical Description · 1
Synonyms & Trade Names Cobalt metal dust, Cobalt metal fume. NIOSH REL TWA 0.05 mg/m3. Noncombustible Solid in bulk form, but finely divided dust will burn at high temperatures.

NIOSH lists cough, breathing difficulty, wheezing, decreased pulmonary function, dermatitis, diffuse nodular fibrosis, respiratory hypersensitivity, and asthma among symptoms associated with cobalt metal dust and fume exposure.

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Exposure Limits; Exposure Routes; Symptoms; Target Organs · 1
NIOSH REL TWA 0.05 mg/m³. OSHA PEL TWA 0.1 mg/m³. Exposure Routes inhalation, ingestion, skin and/or eye contact. Symptoms Cough, dyspnea (breathing difficulty), wheezing, decreased pulmonary function; weight loss; dermatitis; diffuse nodular fibrosis; resp hypersensitivity, asthma. Target Organs Skin, respiratory system.

NIOSH reports a revised IDLH of 20 mg/m³ as cobalt, based on chronic animal toxicity data and lung lesions observed in animals exposed to cobalt-metal dust.

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Basis for revised IDLH · 1
Basis for revised IDLH: Based on chronic toxicity data in animals ... animals chronically exposed to a cobalt-metal blend at a concentration of 20 mg Co/m³ developed lesions in the lungs.

The NIOSH/OSHA review reports animal evidence of bronchiolitis and hypersensitivity reactions from cobalt dust or fume exposure.

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COBALT METAL, DUST AND FUME · 2
Animal studies indicate that high intratracheal doses (10, 25, or 50 mg) of cobalt metal dust can cause obliterative bronchiolitis adenomatosis in guinea pigs ... exposure to cobalt dust or fume causes hypersensitivity reactions.

NIOSH’s cobalt exposure criteria review describes bronchitis and other respiratory disease reports among cobalt-exposed hard-metal workers, including symptoms that improved or disappeared after job transfer.

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page 30 · Other Reports of Respiratory Disease in Workers Exposed to Cobalt · 2
Several reports have also described evidence of bronchitis ... symptoms of chronic bronchitis that improved or disappeared with job transfer.

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