Dairy Worker Safety and Health: Respiratory Protections

Details

• Personal Author:
  Douphrate D ; Reynolds S
• Description:
  Lung diseases have been recognized among dairy workers for decades. While changes on modern dairies have reduced the risk of lung disease, dairy workers continue to experience an excess of chronic bronchitis and occupational asthma with measurable decreases in their pulmonary function and increased syptoms including wheezing, cough and phelgm production. The increased workforce demands on expanding modern dairies have been met primarily through immigrant workers, many of whom have not worked on a farm previously. These inexperienced workers appear to be at greater risk for developing respiratory problems that reduce their productivity and may result in these workers leaving the industry. Lung disease in dairy workers (and other livestock workers) is associated with occupational exposures to organic dusts and their microbial constituents, especially endotoxin. The severity of lung disease is related to both the amount of exposure (dose) and duration or number of years of work. Although there have been fatalities on dairies associated with entry into manure-handling systems, there is little published research on modern dairy worker exposure to ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and other gases and chemicals. The fatalities have been related to the clean-out of stored manure including stirring up of slurry with subsequent release of high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Animals Cattle Dairy Products Engineering Livestock Lung Diseases Mortality Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Ventilation

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• Keywords:
  Animal Handlers Cattle Industry Dairy Products Dose Response Engineering Controls Exposure Methods Fatalities Gases Lung Disease Manure Pits Personal Protective Equipment PPE Safety Education

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• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article ; Lay Publication
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; OSHA Region 6 ; OSHA Region 8 ; Texas
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20052253
• Citation:
  Prog Dairyman 2013 Jul; :1-3
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  Colorado State University - Ft. Collins
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20030915
• Source Full Name:
  The Progressive Dairyman
• End Date:
  20270914
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4c522c11420fa72584b989f912b83bc4cf14237451d6c8ad2eb38379706f0ee3155f1d87a22f1f17e6a599b02d6f92816347552170bd9460346c94d6456d3fbb
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/211808/cdc_211808_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 121.32 KB ]