Evaluation of Airborne Dust and Endotoxin in Corn Storage and Processing Facilities in Colorado

Details

• Personal Author:
  Buchan RM ; Keefe T ; Rijal P ; Sandfort D
• Description:
  The main objectives of this research were to determine what aerosols were present by taking total dust (TD) samples and thoracic particulate mass samples (TPM) on farms and in grain elevators. Cascade impactors were used to characterize size distributions of dust and endotoxins at each site. Total dust concentrations on farms had a geometric mean 3.4 mg/m3 and 3.3 mg/m3 in elevators. The geometric mean (GM) concentrations for the TPM were 2.4 mg/m3 on farms and 1.0 mg/m3 in elevators. Endotoxin concentrations as geometric means were alarming at 3175 EU/m3 total dust and 983 EU/m3 by TPM on farms. In elevators, the GM concentrations for endotoxins were 2534 EU/m3 total dust, and 526 EU/m3 by TPM. The mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) for endotoxins on farms was 8.0 microm and 6.5 microm in elevators. The paired t-test was applied to the log ratios of endotoxin concentrations (EU/m3) and dust concentrations (mg/m3), for paired samples of the TD and TPM. A higher content of endotoxins was associated with TPM for farms but not elevators. It was concluded that although the TPM fraction (dust) may represent a small part of the total mass, the aerosol size is optimum for deposition in the lung's tubular airways, and might cause airway inflammation due to the endotoxins. The TPM fraction of corn dust represents the best measure of exposure with regard to the potential development of long-term airways inflammation, and the potential of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among chronically exposed workers. All endotoxin concentrations were well above recommended exposure levels of several researchers familiar with endotoxin health effects. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aerosols Agriculture Air Pollutants, Occupational Dust Endotoxins Family Farmers Hazardous Substances Irritants Lung Lung Diseases Occupational Health Particulate Matter Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Function Tests Respiratory Hypersensitivity Respiratory Protective Devices Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Safety Management

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• Keywords:
  Aerosol-particles Aerosol-sampling Agricultural-chemicals Agricultural-industry Agricultural-processes Agricultural-products Agricultural-workers Air-treatment Airborne-dusts Airborne-particles Airway-obstruction Airway-resistance Author Keywords: Respiratory Hazards Corn Dust Dust-analysis Dust-control Dust-exposure Dust-extraction Dust-inhalation Exposure-chambers Exposure-levels Exposure-limits Families Hazardous-materials Hazards Health-care Health-hazards Health-standards Pulmonary-clearance Pulmonary-disorders Pulmonary-edema Pulmonary-function Pulmonary-function-tests Pulmonary-system Pulmonary-system-disorders Respirable-dust Respiration Respirators Respiratory-hypersensitivity Respiratory-infections Respiratory-irritants Respiratory-protection Respiratory-protective-equipment Respiratory-rate Respiratory-system-disorders Risk-analysis Risk-factors Safety-climate Safety-education Safety-equipment Safety-measures Safety-monitoring Safety-personnel Safety-practices Safety-programs

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• ISSN:
  1232-1087
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; OSHA Region 8
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  57-64
• Volume:
  15
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20035793
• Citation:
  Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2002 Jan; 15(1):57-64
• Contact Point Address:
  R. M. Buchan, High Plains Intermountain Center for Agricultural Health and Safety, Department of Environmental Health, Colorado State University, Fort Collins 80523
• Email:
  rbuchan@colostate.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2002
• Performing Organization:
  Colorado State University
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19910930
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health
• End Date:
  20020929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f9db7b2b62dd54a72eb83490dca0ae70d88e217cf8330f7144b56389f013e5432e181a25961cedef17621306ec859e1ef5c3e01bdfe9bf5dbd7c3d4bd480999f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/187520/cdc_187520_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 4.10 MB ]