The Effects of Industrial Plating on Indoor Air Quality

How to Keep Workers Safe from Harm

Industrial plating is a complex manufacturing process that plays a critical role in improving a product’s conductivity, durability, and resistance to corrosion. It is used in the production of a wide range of items—from cell phones and coffee makers to medical devices, automotive parts, and everyday hardware such as nails and screws.

While industrial plating offers important benefits, inadequate control of indoor emissions can pose serious health and safety risks to workers.

Industrial Plating, Defined

Industrial plating is a specialized process in which a thin layer of metal is applied to a base substrate—such as wood, glass, plastic, or metal—to enhance the performance, appearance, and longevity of equipment, components, and finished products.

Industrial Plating Processes

There are two primary methods of industrial plating: 

Electroplating, which uses an electric current to deposit metal ions from a solution onto the workpiece. 

Electroless plating, which relies on chemical reactions to apply the metal coating.

Whether the plating action is electric or chemical, it begins with a pre-treatment whereby the item is cleaned and stripped. Next, a metallic overlay is applied. Finally, post-treatment includes grinding and polishing to achieve the desired finish.

The Problem

During the plating process, hazardous mists, gases, dusts, and vapors are released into the air and can be inhaled or absorbed into the skin, eyes, or ears of persons nearby.

Some pollutants, like VOCs (volatile organic compounds), originate from solvents and cleaning agents and easily change from fluid to fumes at room temperature. Common VOCs associated with industrial plating include Butanol, Toluene, and Xylene.

Mechanical operations like grinding and cutting also generate dusts containing heavy metals such as cadmium, manganese, lead, and copper.

Health Risks from Plating

Both short-term (acute) and long-term (chronic) exposure to industrial plating emissions can lead to serious health problems. Symptoms vary depending on the duration and concentration of exposure.

Low-level, short-term exposure may cause skin rashes, flu-like symptoms, eye and sinus irritation, headaches, and dizziness. Prolonged or high-level exposure, however, can result in severe and sometimes fatal illnesses.

Listed below are common plating-related pollutants and their associated health effects:

Cadmium – Kidney failure, osteoporosis, COPD and emphysema, bladder cancer

Hexavalent chromium – Eye damage, skin ulcers, abdominal pain, lung cancer

Lead – Anxiety, joint pain, fetal miscarriage, anemia, heart disease

Manganese – Memory loss, depression, shortness of breath, pneumonia

Nickel – Asthma, lung fibrosis, headaches, stomach bloating, nasal cancer

Toluene – Drowsiness, confusion, hearing loss, brain damage

Xylene – Vomiting, loss of muscle control, irregular heartbeat

Practical Solutions

To minimize exposure to harmful emissions, employers and workers should implement the following safety measures:

1. Use appropriate personal equipment (PPE), including gloves, respirators, and safety goggles.
2. Keep work areas clean and dust-free.
3. Ensure proper and effective ventilation throughout the facility.
4. Substitute toxic materials with safer alternatives whenever possible.
5. Capture dust and fumes at the source using high-quality air filtration and extraction equipment.   

At AIR Systems, we help protect workers by providing advanced air cleaning solutions, including the SP-800 Portable Fume Extractor with a HEPA filtration option. Fume extractors—also known as air purifiers, air cleaners, or filtration systems—significantly improve indoor air quality by capturing hazardous emissions at their source before they reach a worker’s breathing space. Contact us today for a free consultation with one of our indoor environmental specialists to find the air cleaning solution that’s right for your facility.