Document Detail


Respiratory protection provided by N95 filtering facepiece respirators against airborne dust and microorganisms in agricultural farms.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  16234218     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
A new system was used to determine the workplace protection factors (WPF) for dust and bioaerosols in agricultural environments. The field study was performed with a subject wearing an N95 filtering facepiece respirator while performing animal feeding, grain harvesting and unloading, and routine investigation of facilities. As expected, the geometric means (GM) of the WPFs increased with increasing particle size ranging from 21 for 0.7-1 microm particles to 270 for 5-10 microm particles (p < 0.001). The WPF for total culturable fungi (GM = 35) was significantly greater than for total culturable bacteria (GM = 9) (p = 0.01). Among the different microorganism groups, the WPFs of Cladosporium, culturable fungi, and total fungi were significantly correlated with the WPFs of particles of the same sizes. As compared with the WPFs for dust particles, the WPFs for bioaerosols were found more frequently below 10, which is a recommended assigned protection factor (APF) for N95 filtering facepiece respirators. More than 50% of the WPFs for microorganisms (mean aerodynamic diameter < 5 microm) were less than the proposed APF of 10. Even lower WPFs were calculated after correcting for dead space and lung deposition. Thus, the APF of 10 for N95 filtering facepiece respirators seems inadequate against microorganisms (mean aerodynamic size < 5 microm). These results provide useful pilot data to establish guidelines for respiratory protection against airborne dust and microorganisms on agricultural farms. The method is a promising tool for further epidemiological and intervention studies in agricultural and other similar occupational and nonoccupational environments.
Authors:
Shu-An Lee; Atin Adhikari; Sergey A Grinshpun; Roy McKay; Rakesh Shukla; Haoyue Li Zeigler; Tiina Reponen
Related Documents :
6387118 - Fleece-rot: the epidemiology and significance of the disease in sheep.
18970578 - Analytical detection methodologies for methane and related hydrocarbons.
8290378 - Confounding or intermediate effect? an appraisal of iatrogenic bias in perinatal aids r...
5311058 - Epidemiology of chronic bronchitis in prague.
10136548 - Hiv roundtable. strategies to enhance professional awareness and involvement. part ii.
6699568 - Teaching behaviors in the attending-resident interaction.
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Journal of occupational and environmental hygiene     Volume:  2     ISSN:  1545-9624     ISO Abbreviation:  J Occup Environ Hyg     Publication Date:  2005 Nov 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2005-10-19     Completed Date:  2005-12-30     Revised Date:  2007-11-14    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  101189458     Medline TA:  J Occup Environ Hyg     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  577-85     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
University of Cincinnati, Department of Environmental Health, Cincinnati, Ohio 45267-0056, USA.
Export Citation:
APA/MLA Format     Download EndNote     Download BibTex
MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Agriculture / instrumentation*
Air Microbiology
Air Pollutants, Occupational / isolation & purification*
Cladosporium / isolation & purification
Dust
Filtration / instrumentation
Fungi / isolation & purification
Humans
Inhalation Exposure / prevention & control*
Materials Testing
Occupational Exposure / prevention & control*
Particle Size
Respiratory Protective Devices / standards*
Spores, Fungal / isolation & purification
Grant Support
ID/Acronym/Agency:
R01 OH04085/OH/NIOSH CDC HHS
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
0/Air Pollutants, Occupational; 0/Dust
Comments/Corrections
Comment In:
J Occup Environ Hyg. 2006 Jul;3(7):D67-8; author reply D68-70   [PMID:  16835158 ]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


Previous Document:  Join the Movement to Have Healthy Bone Project (JHBP): changing behavior among older women in Thaila...
Next Document:  Benzene exposures associated with tasks performed on marine vessels (circa 1975 to 2000).