8163885 Metal exposure in the lithium-ion battery industry: a pilot study in a recycling facility

<h3>Objective</h3> Lithium-ion batteries (LiB) are essential for electrification needed to achieve the climate goals, thus large-scale LiB manufacturing and recycling facilities are emerging globally. This pilot study aimed at characterizing metal exposure through air, skin and biomonitoring at a new recycling facility of LiB from electric vehicles. <h3>Material and Methods</h3> Biomonitoring (blood, plasma and urine) was performed in 16 employees at two time points: baseline (before start of production) and follow-up (four months later). Among these, five workers (from separation and sorting n=3, storage n=1, and maintenance n=1) were selected to perform exposure assessment through air using personal air samplers for inhalable dust, through skin by acid-wipe sampling, and biomonitoring (pre- and post-shift and pre-shift one day later). All samples were analyzed for lithium, nickel and cobalt, by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. <h3>Results</h3> Airborne metal concentrations exceeded occupational exposure limits for all three workers in separation and sorting (work-shift averages, in µg/m3: lithium 17-78, nickel 85-351, cobalt 25-117). Direct reading particle instruments showed high peak exposures of dust during specific work tasks. Inhalable metal concentrations were low among storage and maintenance workers. Nickel (0.002-0.3 µg/cm2) and cobalt (0.001-0.1 µg/cm2) were detected on the hands of the five workers. Among the 16 workers, metal concentrations in blood, plasma and urine were low, similar to those found in the general population. <h3>Conclusion</h3> Low metal concentrations in biological samples among workers in sorting and separation, where metal dust was elevated, suggest effective use of powered air purifying respirators. Sensitizing metals were detected on skin of all workers, in some cases at ranges that trigger eczema in sensitized individuals. Efforts to reduce metal emissions at the sources are needed.