Aluminium production and processing involves a wide range of occupational exposures, from fluorides and PAHs in smelter potrooms to dust in alumina refineries and fume in fabrication workshops. Employees Health provides doctor-led health monitoring for aluminium workers onsite anywhere in Australia, including regional smelters, refineries and processing plants, or at our clinics.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies occupational exposures during aluminium production as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1), based on evidence for lung and bladder cancer. Good exposure control and well-planned health monitoring are therefore important across the industry.
In the Bayer process, bauxite is digested in hot caustic soda to produce alumina (aluminium oxide). Refinery workers may be exposed to caustic liquor, alumina and bauxite dust, heat, steam and noise.
Smelters use the Hall-Héroult process. Alumina is dissolved in a molten cryolite bath and reduced to aluminium by electrolysis in reduction cells (pots) arranged in long potlines. Carbon anodes are consumed during the process. Potroom work involves high heat, strong magnetic fields, and gases and particulates released when cells are opened, anodes are changed or metal is tapped.
Carbon anodes are made from petroleum coke and coal tar pitch, then baked at high temperature. Pitch handling, paste mixing and baking furnaces are significant sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
Cast houses, extrusion plants, rolling mills and fabrication shops involve molten metal, heat and noise, and welding, grinding and machining of aluminium products.
The cryolite bath and the aluminium fluoride added to it release hydrogen fluoride gas and particulate fluorides in the potroom. Fluorides can irritate the eyes, skin and respiratory tract. Long-term, high exposure to fluoride has historically been linked to skeletal fluorosis. Safe Work Australia lists fluorides, including aluminium fluoride, as an example of a hazardous chemical for which health monitoring may be considered.
Potroom asthma is a recognised occupational asthma affecting some smelter workers. It is thought to be related to the mix of fluorides, sulphur dioxide and particulates in potroom air. Workers may also experience cough, wheeze and reduced lung function. Early identification matters, because symptoms may improve when exposure is reduced.
Sulphur in petroleum coke is released as sulphur dioxide when anodes are consumed, and carbon monoxide is produced in the cells. Sulphur dioxide is a respiratory irritant that can worsen asthma.
PAH exposure in aluminium production comes mainly from coal tar pitch in anode manufacture and from anode baking and consumption. PAHs are listed in Schedule 14 of the model WHS Regulations, so health monitoring is required where there is a significant risk to health. For the health effects of PAHs, biological monitoring with urinary 1-hydroxypyrene and the Schedule 14 monitoring requirements, see our PAH health monitoring page.
Alumina and bauxite dusts can irritate the airways and contribute to respiratory symptoms at high levels. Fine aluminium powders, such as those made for pigments and pyrotechnics, have been associated with lung fibrosis in a small number of highly exposed workers.
Potlines, cast houses, rolling mills and refinery plant are noisy, and many workers are frequently required to wear hearing protection. Heat stress is a major hazard in potrooms and cast houses, particularly during hot weather and when wearing heavy protective clothing.
Welding aluminium, particularly MIG welding, produces aluminium oxide fume and higher levels of ozone than many other welding processes, due to strong ultraviolet radiation. Machining uses metalworking fluids, which can cause dermatitis and, in some cases, respiratory illness. Read more about health monitoring for welding fume exposure.
There is no single Schedule 14 entry for aluminium, so the program is built around the specific exposures in each work area. Depending on the risk assessment, an Employees Health doctor may include:
Australia’s aluminium smelters and alumina refineries are mostly in regional areas and run continuous shifts. Employees Health brings health monitoring to site anywhere in Australia, scheduling around rotating rosters, night shift and planned shutdowns to keep production running. Workers can also attend one of our clinics.
The PCBU must inform workers about health monitoring, arrange for it to be carried out by or under the supervision of a registered medical practitioner with experience in health monitoring, and pay for it. Health monitoring complements engineering controls such as pot hooding and fume treatment, ventilation, respiratory protection and heat management. Our team can help you decide which workers and tests to include. This is practical support, not legal advice.
Individual results remain confidential. The supervising doctor provides the employer with a health monitoring report stating whether the worker can continue the work and any recommended changes to controls, and workers receive their own results. Health monitoring records must be kept confidentially for at least 30 years.
To arrange health monitoring for aluminium production workers, call 1300 880 804, email our team or contact our team.
The main health concern in aluminium smelting is not the metal itself but the substances released during production, particularly PAHs from carbon anodes and coal tar pitch, along with fluorides, sulphur dioxide and dust. PAH exposure is linked to an increased risk of some cancers and skin effects, so PAH health monitoring may be required for potroom and anode workers.
Inhaled alumina and aluminium dust and fume can irritate the airways, and high or prolonged exposure may affect the lungs. Dust and fume controls, exposure monitoring and respiratory assessment help protect workers, and fine aluminium powders need particular care.
Workers in aluminium production can be exposed to PAHs, some of which, such as benzo[a]pyrene, are classified as presumed human carcinogens. PAHs are listed in Schedule 14 of the model WHS Regulations, so workers with significant exposure must be given health monitoring including a medical and occupational history, physical examination and advice on recognising photosensitivity and skin changes.
Programs often cover PAHs, which may include urinary 1-hydroxypyrene testing, along with respiratory assessment for fluorides and dust, hearing tests for noise, and skin checks. The doctor decides the exact tests based on each worker’s role and exposure. Employees Health can deliver these onsite at smelters and processing plants anywhere in Australia.
A final medical examination should be done when a worker leaves work in a PAH process, including advice on identifying photosensitivity and skin changes. Workers with ongoing symptoms may be advised to continue medical review, organised through the supervising doctor.
