Exposure Monitoring Strategies for Applying Low-Cost PM Sensors to Assess Flour Dust in Industrial Bakeries

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bard D ; Ben Jeddi H ; Cauda, Emanuele G. ; Gorce J-P ; Kuijpers E ; Pronk A ; Ruiter S ; Saunders J ; Snawder, John E. ; Warren N
• Description:
  Low-cost particulate matter (PM) sensors provide new methods for monitoring occupational exposure to hazardous substances, such as flour dust. These devices have many possible benefits, but much remains unknown about their performance for different exposure monitoring strategies in the workplace. We explored the performance of PM sensors for four different monitoring strategies (time-weighted average and high time resolution, each quantitative and semi-quantitative) for assessing occupational exposure using low-cost PM sensors in a field study in the industrial bakery sector. Measurements were collected using four types of sensor (PATS+, Isensit, Airbeam2, and Munisense) and two reference devices (respirable gravimetric samplers and an established time-resolved device) at two large-scale bakeries, spread over 11 participants and 6 measurement days. Average PM2.5 concentrations of the low-cost sensors were compared with gravimetric respirable concentrations for 8-h shift periods and 1-min PM2.5 concentrations of the low-cost sensors were compared with time-resolved PM2.5 data from the reference device (quantitative monitoring strategy). Low-cost sensors were also ranked in terms of exposure for 8-h shifts and for 15-min periods with a shift (semi-quantitative monitoring strategy). Environmental factors and methodological variables, which can affect sensor performance, were investigated. Semi-quantitative monitoring strategies only showed more accurate results compared with quantitative strategies when these were based on shift-average exposures. The main factors that influenced sensor performance were the type of placement (positioning the devices stationary versus personal) and the company or workstation where measurements were collected. Together, these findings provide an overview of common strengths and drawbacks of low-cost sensors and different ways these can be applied in the workplace. This can be used as a starting point for further investigations and the development of guidance documents and data analysis methods. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Dust Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Particulate Matter Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Bakery Bakery Workers Dusts Exposure Exposure Assessment Flour Dust Industrial Environment Low-cost Devices Monitors Occupational Occupational Exposure Particulate Matter Particulate Sampling Methods PM Respirable Dust Sensors

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• Series:
  Mining Publications
• ISSN:
  2398-7308
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  WSD - Western States Division ; PMRD - Pittsburgh Mining Research Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  379-391
• Volume:
  67
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20066809
• Citation:
  Ann Work Expo Health 2023 Apr; 67(3):379-391
• Contact Point Address:
  Sander Ruiter, Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), Healthy Living and Work, RAPID 3584 CB Utrecht, The Netherlands
• Email:
  Sander.ruiter@tno.nl
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2023
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Annals of Work Exposures and Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:93c9d2bb4eb1a79314f1948868db28ab764403a601839adfd3db016a6221fa4537db99dc698da24520ec77c887f42e673f22e3507e244a8805c5c2dee11a38ea
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/215617/cdc_215617_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.83 MB ]