Exposure to amorphous silica fibers and other particulate matter during rice farming operations

Details

• Personal Author:
  Jenkins B ; John W ; Lawson RJ ; Lischak LA ; McCurdy SA ; Scales D ; Schenker MB
• Description:
  Exposures to amorphous-silica (7631869) fibers greater than 5 micrometers in length were evaluated in the respirable dust fraction collected during rice farming operations. Area and personal samples for airborne amorphous-silica fibers were collected during rice harvest, burning, and field preparation. Area samples were also collected upwind and in a nearby town. The study indicated that employees were exposed to airborne amorphous-silica fibers in all phases of the rice farming operation. Personal exposures were found up to 1.9 fibers/cubic centimeter for fibers in the respirable dust range over 5 micrometers in length. Although the fibers did not have needle like or hair like shapes, ends of fibers were sometimes sharply pointed. The median fiber length was 2.8 micrometers, with a range from 0.5 to 20 micrometers. Ninety percent of the fibers were less than 9 micrometers in length. The median fiber width was 0.9 micrometers, with a range from 0.2 to 7 micrometers. Ninety percent of the fibers were less than 2.5 micrometers in width. The authors suggest that if employees avoid smoke exposure during stubble burning, the exposure to aerosolized biogenic silica fibers from the soil may contribute more to occupational exposure hazards than exposure during burning. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Air Pollutants, Occupational Biological Products Dust Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Particulate Matter Safety
• Keywords:
  Agricultural-industry Agricultural-workers Airborne-fibers Airborne-particles Biological-material Combustion-products Fibrous-dusts NIOSH-Cooperative-Agreement NIOSH-Publication Occupational-exposure
• ISSN:
  1047-322X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  10
• Issue:
  8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00228667
• Citation:
  Appl Occup Environ Hyg 1995 Aug; 10(8):677-684
• CAS Registry Number:
  Silica (CAS RN 7631-86-9)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1995
• Performing Organization:
  University of California - Davis
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19900930
• Source Full Name:
  Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• End Date:
  20020929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0cc4e8cda631386d68f9d9447d7b2732acdf416fe731b95d8eaa6350d7ba1aae991db9354a492c243a0d314c5ee8c939a579a8ea2318abe60be78fead80a35f3
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/204735/cdc_204735_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.76 MB ]