Heat treatment and PAHs

Certain heat treatments using gaseous hydrocarbons as carbon sources generate carcinogenic compounds from the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) family. In order to identify prevention solutions appropriate to the realities out in the field, INRS has conducted various measurement campaigns for two recent processes that are used in the aircraft and automobile industries: low-pressure gas carburising and carbon densification. Operators who maintain and clean facilities are potentially highly exposed, but through use of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), and through operators and their managers taking on board the PAH risk, exposure has been reduced. In spite of these improvements, exposures can remain, and manufacturers should also think about collective prevention solutions appropriate to their processes and to their workshops.