Recombinant Factor C (rFC) Assay and Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) Analysis of Endotoxin Variability in Four Agricultural Dusts

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cranmer B ; Keefe TJ ; Larsson L ; Mehaffy JM ; Reynolds SJ ; Saito, Rena ; Tessari JD
• Description:
  Endotoxin exposure is a significant concern in agricultural environments due to relatively high exposure levels. The goals of this study were to determine patterns of 3-hydroxy fatty acid (3-OHFA) distribution in dusts from four types of agricultural environments (dairy, cattle feedlot, grain elevator, and corn farm) and to evaluate correlations between the results of gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis (total endotoxin) and biological recombinant factor C (rFC) assay (free bioactive endotoxin). An existing GC/MS-MS method (for house dust) was modified to reduce sample handling and optimized for small amount (<1 mg) of agricultural dusts using GC/EI-MS. A total of 134 breathing zone samples using Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) inhalable samplers were collected from agricultural workers in Colorado and Nebraska. Livestock dusts contained approximately two times higher concentrations of 3-OHFAs than grain dusts. Patterns of 3-OHFA distribution and proportion of each individual 3-OHFA varied by dust type. The rank order of Pearson correlations between the biological rFC assay and the modified GC/EI-MS results was feedlot (0.72) > dairy (0.53) > corn farm (0.33) > grain elevator (0.11). In livestock environments, both odd- and even-numbered carbon chain length 3-OHFAs correlated with rFC assay response. The GC/EI-MS method should be especially useful for identification of specific 3-OHFAs for endotoxins from various agricultural environments and may provide useful information for evaluating the relationship between bacterial exposure and respiratory disease among agricultural workers. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Dust Endotoxins Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Particulate Matter Safety
• Keywords:
  Agricultural Industry Author Keywords: Agriculture Chronic Exposure Dust Inhalation Dust Particles Exposure Assessment Lipopolysaccharides Organic Dust Organic Dusts Particulate Dust Particulates

  More +
• ISSN:
  0003-4878
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant ; 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
• Volume:
  53
• Issue:
  7
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20036271
• Citation:
  Ann Occup Hyg 2009 Oct; 53(7):713-722
• Contact Point Address:
  Rena Saito, Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
• Email:
  hve5@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2010
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  Colorado State University - Ft. Collins
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20030915
• Source Full Name:
  Annals of Occupational Hygiene
• End Date:
  20270914
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3e082c91170ac741642848ac71f5deacab3fa450d407d4ae956fe06c0e3a5196710e34eed2018e649356653d932081bfe53d13769ad96361d4d3800af3ad0114
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/187756/cdc_187756_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 267.49 KB ]