Silicon carbide (SiC) is largely used in various products such as diesel particulate filters and solar panels. It is produced through the Acheson process where aerosolized fractions of SiC and other by-products are generated in the work environment and may potentially affect the workers’ health. In this study, dust was collected directly on a filter in a furnace hall over a time period of 24 h. The collected dust was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and found to contain a high content of graphite particles, and carbon and silicon containing particles. Only 6% was classified as SiC, whereof only 10% had a fibrous structure. To study effects of exposure beyond the respiratory system, neurotoxic effects on human astrocytic cells, were investigated. Both low, occupationally relevant, and high doses from 9E-6 μg/cm² up to 4.5 μg/cm² were used, respectively. Cytotoxicity assay indicated no effects of low doses but an effect of the higher doses after 24 h. Furthermore, investigation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) indicated no effects with low doses, whereas a higher dose of 0.9 μg/cm² induced a significant increase in ROS and DNA damage. In summary, low doses of dust from the Acheson process may exert no or little toxic effects, at least experimentally in the laboratory on human astrocytes. However, higher doses have implications and are likely a result of the complex composition of the dust.

碳化硅（SiC）广泛用于各种产品，例如柴油机微粒过滤器和太阳能电池板。它是通过Acheson工艺生产的，在该工艺中，工作环境中会产生SiC和其他副产品的雾化级分，并可能影响工人的健康。在这项研究中，在24小时的时间内，灰尘直接收集在炉膛的过滤器上。通过扫描电子显微镜对收集到的粉尘进行表征，发现其包含高含量的石墨颗粒以及碳和含硅颗粒。仅有6％被归类为SiC，其中只有10％具有纤维状结构。为了研究暴露于呼吸系统以外的影响，研究了对人类星形细胞的神经毒性作用。从9E-6μg/ cm的低剂量，与职业有关的剂量和高剂量分别使用²至4.5μg/ cm ²。细胞毒性测定表明低剂量无作用，但24小时后有较高剂量。此外，对细胞内活性氧（ROS）的研究表明，低剂量无作用，而0.9μg/ cm ²的高剂量诱导ROS和DNA损伤显着增加。总而言之，至少在实验室中通过实验，对人类星形胶质细胞而言，来自Acheson过程的低剂量粉尘可能不会产生或只有很少的毒性作用。但是，较高的剂量会产生影响，并且可能是粉尘成分复杂的结果。