Manufacturing process & RCS

• Keywords: Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS), traditional ceramics, workers safety, toxicity screening.

Since its estabilishment, Centro Ceramico supported the companies to face the theme of safety and healthcare of workers. Among the different performed tests and controls, the monitoring of the powder presence in the working ambient and the content of crystalline silica have always been a constant.
Silica containing materials are widely used in the ceramic process. For this reason people working in this sector are potentially exposed to respiratory diseases till to silicosis. In 1997 the IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) classified the RCS (Respirable crystalline silica, both in the form of quartz and in the form of cristobalite) as a carcinogenic substance, but the Europe has not yet adopted this definition since it has not been demonstrated a correlation between the direct inhalation of RCS and, in extreme cases, lung cancer. With regard to this, the research activity on RCS inhalation became more intense.
Due to its long experience on this theme, Centro Ceramico participated to an EU Project (SILICERAM) concerning the study of RCS toxicity in the ceramic sector, with the aim to provide legislators with useful information to regulate the exposition limits.
One of the main obtained results showed that the biological activity of the powder was lower than that of the quartz alone; this suggested that clay minerals have an attenuation effect on the quartz toxicity.

The last EU Project Centro Ceramico took part, (SILICOAT Project) had, as main objective, to develop a technology to coat the RCS to inhibit the specific toxicity. In this way both the transport and the use of quartz should be more safer for all the involved workers.

During SILICOAT research activity, that started taking into account the results obtained in the previous EU Project (SILICERAM), several activities were carried out:

• implementation of a toxicology screening procedure to evaluate the biological activity of quartz;
• application of the toxicology screening procedure on raw materials and mixture for the traditional ceramic industry;
• selection of several coating agents by means of laboratory tests;
• coating of several quartz coating with the most promising additives and evaluation of their efficacy;
• application of the coating process to the industrial process.

Project SILIFE – see the videoclip

Main Scientific Papers

1.  E. Monfort, A. López-Lilao, A. Escrig, M. J. Ibáñez, G. Bonvicini, O. Creutzenberg, C. Ziemann, “Additives for reducing the toxicity of crystalline silica. SILIFE Project”. International Conference “Energy, Environment and Material Systems- EEMS 2017”, Polanica-Zdrój (PL) 13-15 September 2017
2. E. Monfort, A. Escrig, M.J. Ibanez, G. Bonvicini, A. Salomoni, O. Creutzenberg, C. Ziemann, “Production of quartz powders with reduced cristalline silica toxicity. Preliminary results”. Qualicer – XIV World Congress on Ceramic Tile Quality, Castellón (E), 8-9 February 2016
3. C. Ziemann, H. Rahmer, M.J. Ibanez, E. Monfort, G. Bonvicini, A. Escrig, O. Creutzenberg. “The SILICOAT project: approaches for an effective quartz surface coating in the traditional ceramics industry to increase workers safety – toxicological investigation”. DGPT Congress, Kiel (D), 10-12 March 2015
4. M.C. Bignozzi. “SILICOAT project – A case study under EU support programs at the Italian Ceramic Center Bologna)”. Research & Innovation in Ceramics: Cerame Unie – Brussels, December 4, 2014.
5. A. Escrig, M.J. Ibanez, E. Monfort, G. Bonvicini, A. Salomoni, O. Creutzenberg, C. Ziemann. “Quartz coating to reduce its toxicity in ceramic compositions”. XIII Congresso Mediterraneo di Ingegneria Chimica. Castellon (E), Ottobre 2014.
6. C. Ziemann, S.M. Reamon-Bluttner, T. Tillmann, H.T. Hansen, M.J. Ibanez, E. Monfort, G. Bonvicini, A. Escrig, O. Creutzenberg. “The SILICOAT project: in vitro and in vivo toxicity screening of quartz varieties from traditional ceramic industry and approaches for an effective quartz coating”. DGPT Congress, Hannover (D), April 13, 2014.
7. A. Escrig, M.J. Ibanez, E. Monfort, G. Bonvicini, A. Salomoni, O. Creutzenberg, C. Ziemann. “Selection of additives for reducing the toxicity of quartz in ceramic compositions”. Proceedings of Qualicer XIII – World Congress on Ceramic tile quality. Castellon (E), 17-18 February 2014.

Contact:

Dr. Giuliana Bonvicini: bonvicini@centroceramico.it
Direct phone number: +39 051 0250161