Controlling Worker Exposure to Dust on Broiler Chicken Farms: Task-Modification Solutions

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bray J ; Isbell C ; Nonnenmann M
• Description:
  Broiler chicken workers are exposed to inhalation hazards that include dust, bacteria, fungi, endotoxin and ammonia. Broiler chicken production is rapidly increasing in the US and broiler farm workers or may not be aware of engineering or task-modification approaches to decrease inhalation exposure to dust during daily tasks. Inhalation exposure to dust was measured during a daily task ("mortality pickup") performed by a broiler a farm worker. Inhalable dust exposure was measured while using a "traditional" approach to the mortality pick-up task and compared to dust exposure experienced while performing the "modified" mortality pick-up task. Exposure assessment to dust was performed using an inhalable dust sampler in the personal breathing zone of the farm worker. Exposure concentrations were paired ("traditional" vs. "modified") and analyzed using a paired t-test. Mean inhalation exposure was 16.24 mg/m3 (SD 13.45) while performing the task using the "traditional" method. However, while performing the "modified" task, mean inhalation exposure to dust was 11.95 mg/m3 (SD 7.68). Preliminary analyses suggest that the observed difference in inhalation exposure between the "traditional" and "modified" task approached statistical significance (p = 0.09). However, additional data collection is ongoing. The inhalation exposure observed in this study may be higher than recommended exposure concentrations. However, different samplers were used in this study; therefore direct comparisons to recommended exposure concentrations may be difficult. Furthermore, the mortality pick-up task duration ranged from 1-2 hours per day. Other tasks may result in inhalable dust exposure. However, anecdotal information suggests that the mortality pick-up task resulted in the majority of the daily inhalable dust exposure. Therefore, simple solutions such as task-modification to reduce exposure may prove to be an effective and inexpensive solution to reduce dust exposure among broiler chicken workers. Future research on dust exposure among agricultural workers should be task-based and evaluate inexpensive engineering solutions to reduce dust exposure. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aerosols Agriculture Bacteria Dust Livestock Microbiology Occupational Health Respiratory System Safety
• Keywords:
  Agricultural Industry Bacterial Dusts Breathing Zone Dust Inhalation Exposure Assessment Livestock Industry Microorganisms Organic Dusts Respirable Dust Respiratory Irritants Task Performance

  More +
• ISSN:
  1059-924X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Iowa ; OSHA Region 6 ; OSHA Region 7 ; Texas
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  229-230
• Volume:
  19
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20053174
• Citation:
  J Agromedicine 2014 Apr; 19(2):229-230
• Email:
  matthew-nonnenmann@uiowa.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of Texas Health Center at Tyler
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20010930
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Agromedicine
• End Date:
  20270929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:dd41d78d9578d9680bb425cb13763777d2173e1e6e092a9409b477e9bdc94b9420dbdea6ed79311f38db244d579e49c854097aadb5ad3eea2b229a29b60b72b3
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/215986/cdc_215986_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 89.26 KB ]