Evaluation of Dust Exposures in a Spice Shop

Details

• Personal Author:
  Tapp, Loren C. ; Zwack, Leonard M.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  The Health Hazard Evaluation Program received a request from a spice shop. The employer was concerned about employee exposures to dust during spice grinding operations. We measured the amount of dust in the air. We observed work activities, production processes, and personal protective equipment use. We interviewed employees and asked about their work, medical history, and work-related health concerns. Exposures were highest for employees grinding, blending, and mixing spices. The highest inhalable dust concentrations were in the grinding room where employees ground spices using a mechanical grinder and mixed and blended bulk spices by hand and with a commercial blender. Employees reported occasional brief upper respiratory irritation from work exposures but no persistent symptoms. Although respiratory protection was worn by employees when grinding spices, its use was voluntary and employees did not always use it correctly. As some spice dusts have been reported to be allergens, and the dusts are capable of causing occupational asthma and dermatitis, we encouraged the employer to take the approach that is most protective of employees' health in controlling exposures to spice dust. Installing LEV and improving work practices and material handling techniques to limit dust and aerosol exposures to the lowest feasible limits are needed to reduce employee exposures. Until LEV is installed, employees grinding, mixing, and blending spices should be required to wear respiratory protection. We also recommended the company enhance employee training on the proper use of personal protective equipment.
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Asthma Asthma, Occupational Dermatitis Dust Food-Processing Industry Hypersensitivity Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Particulate Matter Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Respiratory System Safety Skin Ventilation

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• Keywords:
  Airborne Dusts Airborne Particles Allergens All Other Specialty Food Stores California Control Methods Dust Control Dust Exposure Dust Measurement Dust Particles Employee Exposure Environmental Control Equipment Exhaust Ventilation Food Additives Food Processing Industry Food Processing Workers Grinding Grinding Equipment Inhalable Inhalation Manual Materials Handling Mixing OSHA Region 9 Particulate Particulates Not Otherwise Regulated Personal Protective Equipment PNOR Respirators Respiratory Irritants Respiratory Protection Skin Irritants Spice Ventilation Systems Work Practices

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• Source:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HHE 2016-0098-3288, 2017 Sep ; :1-17
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE201600983288
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  24 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Booher, Donald E. ; Galloway, Ellen ; Khafagy, Abdullah ; Moore, Kevin ; Watts, Shawna
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20050400
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2018-100065
• Citation:
  NIOSH [2017]. Evaluation of dust exposures in a spice shop. By Zwack LM, Tapp LC. ; Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease ; Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Health ; Hazard Evaluation Report 2016-0098-3288,
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  445299 - All Other Specialty Food Stores - (NAICS)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:68fde1b2f6e043c0133b674329f83f55622aa059431e01ad6d8964babdbbddfa570ae19d4f882baa95ac8404fe7e2df85a96330f280b51fd02bf1dcaf9abc1eb
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172382/cdc_172382_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.58 MB ]