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OSH-DB Search Results
- Accession_Number:
- 10000637
- Title:
- Comparative Personal Exposures to Organic Dusts and Endotoxin
- Author(s):
- Simpson, J. C. G. ; Niven, R. M. ; Pickering, C. A. C. ; Oldham, L. A. ; Fletcher, A. M. ; Francis, H. C.
- Reference:
- Annals of Occupational Hygiene, Vol. 43, No. 2, pages 107-115, 31 references
- Pubdate:
- February 1999
- Subdate:
- 0000/00/00
- Keywords:
- Organic-dusts / Endotoxins / Textiles-industry / Agricultural-industry / Animal-husbandry / Poultry-industry / Dust-exposure / Occupational-exposure / Industrial-hygiene
- Abstract:
- A study was conducted to provide valid comparative data for personal exposures to dust and endotoxins for different occupations and to calculate comparative data for the contamination of organic dusts with endotoxin. Nine different occupational settings drawn from the textile, agricultural and animal handling industries were studied. Samples were collected by personal sampling techniques, using the Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) sampling head, glass fiber filters, and rechargeable sampling pumps. The dust exposures were calculated by gravimetric analysis and were expressed as mg/m3 using the calculated volume of air sampled. Endotoxin exposures were measured using a simple water extraction from the collected dusts, followed by a quantitative turbidimetric assay. Results were expressed as ng/m3, using the calculated volume of air sampled. In addition, the levels of the contamination of dusts with endotoxin for individual industries were expressed as ng/mg of collected dust. Two hundred and fifty-nine samples, collected from nine different industries and across 36 different sites were analyzed representing a sampling rate of 25% for the total work force. The average sampling time was 4.62 hours. A significant correlation between the collected dust and endotoxin was seen (r = 0.7 and p less than 0.001) for all the dusts collected. The highest dust exposures occurred during cleaning activities (grain handling: 72.5 mg/m3). Animal handlers were the individuals exposed to the highest median level of dust and endotoxin (poultry handlers, dust: 11.53 mg/m3, endotoxin: 71,995 ng/m3). Weaving and mushroom cultivation had the lowest exposures for dust and endotoxins. The most highly contaminated dusts were found in the animal handling and cotton spinning industries. Processing of cotton and wool fibers was found to reduce the levels of contamination of dusts with endotoxin. The authors conclude that valid comparative data for personal exposures to organic dusts and endotoxins have been presented. The highest exposures were found among animal handlers and during cleaning activities. The results highlight that dust exposures are greater in a number of industries than the set exposure standards. In addition, endotoxin exposures are found to be greater than levels at which harmful effects have been demonstrated. [OSHDB]
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