PSS – Controlling workplace exposure to chloroplatinates
Occupational Exposure Limit and Voluntary Guideline Value
Most countries that have a regulatory Occupational Exposure Limit (OEL) for chloroplatinates or total soluble platinum have adopted the value of 0.002 mg/m3 (2,000 ng/m3) recommended by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) in the 1970s. Attempts to review this value and propose a revised OEL have been hampered by a lack of suitable epidemiological data upon which to base the assessment.
IPA subsequently sponsored the conduct of an occupational epidemiology study of platinum salt sensitivity (PSS) during 2000-2010 across five PGM refineries spanning South Africa, Europe, and the USA. The study period was later extended to 2015. These studies still have a number of limitations but provide the best evidential basis upon which to judge an acceptable level of exposure to chloroplatinates.
Based on the data, a committee of IPA member company physicians, toxicologists and industrial hygienists concluded that 100 ng/m3 as an 8-hour TWA represents an appropriate scientific data-driven target for limiting workplace exposure to chloroplatinates. This is 20-fold lower than the regulatory OEL for chloroplatinates and represents an ambitious and challenging target that in most cases will require substantial capital expenditure to meet and is at the limits of technical and economic viability.
The member companies of IPA are committed to continuing the incredible progress made in reducing cases of PSS beyond the low incidence that has already been achieved. The IPA member companies therefore accepted the advice of its scientific committee and agreed to an industry Voluntary Guideline Value (VGV) for chloroplatinates of 100 ng/m3 and to work towards decreasing exposures to this level.
Further information can be found here.
Good Practice Guidance – Exposure Controls
Although various factors likely contribute to workers developing platinum salt sensitivity (PSS), the fundamental cause is occupational exposure to chloroplatinates. It is not practicably viable to substitute these industrial intermediates within the refining of PGMs; therefore, adequately controlling workplace exposure to chloroplatinates is the primary strategy in reducing the occurrence of PSS.
Through its Health and Environment Science Committee, the IPA has prepared a series of Good Practice Guidance documents on key exposure controls. These are intended to support facilities where chloroplatinates are present in achieving adequate exposure control.
An introductory visual guide has been prepared followed by a series of Good Practice Guidance documents that each focus on a particular type of exposure control.
DISCLAIMER: These guidance documents have been prepared by industrial hygiene practitioners working in the platinum group metals (PGM) industry for the benefit of other professionals responsible for controlling industrial workplace exposures to chloroplatinates. The documents should not be relied upon as a substitute for appropriate professional expertise. The information in the documents does not constitute legal or mandatory advice; it is for information purposes only and should not be construed to be either comprehensive nor advice or recommendation of any kind. Any reader/user should consult their own local experts, scientific advisers and legal counsel or appropriate regulatory authorities to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and seek to have professionally checked by suitably qualified experts the suitability of the information within these documents for the intended use. Neither the contributors to these documents nor the International Platinum Group Metals Association assumes any liability for any errors or omissions or for any personal injury, physical harm and any loss or damages of whatsoever nature that have been caused by or in connection with the use of the information contained within these documents.