dusts.org
← All dusts

Dust entry

Iron oxide dust and fume

Airborne iron oxide dust and fume, including fume generated during arc-welding of iron.

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

siderosisbenign pneumoconiosis

Evidence

A NIOSH health-hazard evaluation describes characteristic lung markings in workers exposed to iron oxide dust or fume, identifies the finding as benign siderosis, and documents occupational processes that can generate the exposure.

Source: pdf ↗ · saved source
page 6 · Iron oxide · 1
Chest x-rays of workers exposed to iron oxide dust or fume (in the absence of asbestos or crystalline silica) may display characteristic, unusual lung markings. These findings, however, are not predictive of adverse health effects. In fact, iron deposition in the lung (called siderosis) is considered benign and workers do not experience changes in lung function.

The current NIOSH Pocket Guide identifies iron oxide as both dust and fume, notes that fume may occur during arc-welding of iron, and specifies a 5 mg/m3 NIOSH REL and 10 mg/m3 OSHA PEL.

Source: html ↗ · saved source
Exposure Limits; Physical Description · 1
NIOSH REL TWA 5 mg/m3. OSHA PEL TWA 10 mg/m3. Physical Description Reddish-brown solid. [Note: Exposure to fume may occur during the arc-welding of iron.]

NIOSH lists a 5 mg/m³ REL and 10 mg/m³ PEL, and identifies siderosis (benign pneumoconiosis) as a respiratory effect of iron oxide dust and fume exposure.

Source: html ↗ · saved source
Exposure Limits; Exposure Routes; Symptoms; Target Organs · 1
NIOSH REL TWA 5 mg/m³. OSHA PEL TWA 10 mg/m³. Exposure Routes inhalation. Symptoms Benign pneumoconiosis with X-ray shadows indistinguishable from fibrotic pneumoconiosis (siderosis). Target Organs respiratory system.

The NIOSH/OSHA review reports that animal exposure to iron oxide did not produce pulmonary fibrosis in the cited studies.

Source: html ↗ · saved source
IRON OXIDE FUME · 2
Animals exposed to iron oxide or to iron oxide mixed with less than 5 percent silica by inhalation or by intratracheal injection did not develop pulmonary fibrosis.

Controls