Occurrence of fibrous sodium aluminumtetrafluoride particles in potrooms of the primary aluminum industry

Abstract

Inorganic fibrous particles have been found in the work environment of the primary aluminum industry. Based on scanning electron microscopic analysis, the concentrations ranged from 9 to 720 fibers/cc. The fibers were generally thinner than 0.1 micron in diameter and shorter than 5 microns. By electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis, and selected area electron diffraction the fibers were identified as sodium aluminumtetrafluoride.