Exposure and urinary excretion of aluminum during welding.

The exposure and urinary excretion of aluminum was studied among three previously unexposed volunteers and six welders exposed to welding fumes containing aluminum. The aluminum concentrations in air and urine were determined. The urinary aluminum concentrations rose rapidly in volunteers exposed only for 1 d and returned to the preexposure levels with an estimated half-time of about 8 h. The welders were monitored for one workweek. During the subsequent weekend a decrease in the urinary concentrations occurred in the three welders exposed for two years or less, but such a decrease was not observed among welders exposed for more than 15 years. The urinary concentrations of aluminum were dependent partly on the level of current exposure and partly on the duration of exposure. The data suggest that welders exposed to welding fumes containing aluminum may retain some of the inhaled metal fume for extended periods of time.