Physical, morphological, and chemical studies of dusts derived from the machining of composite-epoxy materials

This work (in three parts) inquires into whether respirable dusts derived from the machining of six composite-epoxy materials (e.g., aircraft industry) may pose a health risk to the operators. Dust samples representative of a variety of composites and structural components were aerodynamically sized and fractionated. Bulk and fractionated samples were examined by light and electron microscopy and analyzed chemically by thermogravimetry (TGA), gas chromatography (GC) and mass spectrometry (MS). Relative fractions of respirable to total mass of bulk samples were