Exposure Assessment of Smoke and Biogenic Silica Fibers During Sugar Cane Harvesting in Hawaii

Boeniger, Mark F.; Fernback, Joseph E.; Hartle, R.W.; Hawkins, Michael; Sinks, Thomas

doi:10.1080/1047322x.1991.10387828

Cited by 12 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…The crystalline silica content of the airborne dust may range from less than 1% to as high as 75% depending on the source of the diatomaceous ores and temperature of processing. In addition, farmers may be exposed to biogenic amorphous silicas during harvesting, crop burning, or incineration (Boeniger et al, 1991;Lawson et al, 1995;Rabovsky, 1995).…”

Section: Exposure To Amorphous Silicamentioning

confidence: 98%

Amorphous silica: A review of health effects from inhalation exposure with particular reference to cancer

McLaughlin

Chow

Levy

1997

Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health

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Silicas and silicates are some of the most abundant compounds found naturally in the earth's crust. Excessive exposure to crystalline silicas can cause serious lung disease such as silicosis and has been associated with lung cancer in some studies, but the potential health effects of amorphous silicas (silicon dioxide without crystalline structure) have not been well studied. Results from animal studies of amorphous silicas, unlike those seen with crystalline silicas, have suggested limited and largely reversible cytotoxic and possibly fibrogenic effects associated with some forms, but data on cancer outcomes are scanty and for the most part negative. Epidemiologic investigations to date for any potential cancer risk are not informative because the effects of crystalline and amorphous silicas have not been separated. Any future epidemiologic study should attempt to clarify the health effects of amorphous silicas from those of crystalline silicas, particularly with regard to any potential for carcinogenicity.

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Section: Exposure To Amorphous Silicamentioning

confidence: 98%

Amorphous silica: A review of health effects from inhalation exposure with particular reference to cancer

McLaughlin

Chow

Levy

1997

Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health

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“…Therefore, it would be inappropriate to infer a causal relationship between sugarcane burning and asthma hospital visits based on this descriptive study. Boeniger and coworkers (1991) conducted an exposure assessment of smoke during sugar-cane harvesting in Hawaii in 1987 (Boeniger et al, 1991). They collected both area and personal samples.…”

Section: Agricultural Burningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Woodsmoke Health Effects: A Review

Naeher

Bräuer

Lipsett

et al. 2007

Inhalation Toxicology

1,290

1,054

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The sentiment that woodsmoke, being a natural substance, must be benign to humans is still sometimes heard. It is now well established, however, that wood-burning stoves and fireplaces as well as wildland and agricultural fires emit significant quantities of known health-damaging pollutants, including several carcinogenic compounds. Two of the principal gaseous pollutants in woodsmoke, CO and NOx, add to the atmospheric levels of these regulated gases emitted by other combustion sources. Health impacts of exposures to these gases and some of the other woodsmoke constituents (e.g., benzene) are well characterized in thousands of publications. As these gases are indistinguishable no matter where they come from, there is no urgent need to examine their particular health implications in woodsmoke. With this as the backdrop, this review approaches the issue of why woodsmoke may be a special case requiring separate health evaluation through two questions. The first question we address is whether woodsmoke should be regulated and/or managed separately, even though some of its separate constituents are already regulated in many jurisdictions. The second question we address is whether woodsmoke particles pose different levels of risk than other ambient particles of similar size. To address these two key questions, we examine several topics: the chemical and physical nature of woodsmoke; the exposures and epidemiology of smoke from wildland fires and agricultural burning, and related controlled human laboratory exposures to biomass smoke; the epidemiology of outdoor and indoor woodsmoke exposures from residential woodburning in developed countries; and the toxicology of woodsmoke, based on animal exposures and laboratory tests. In addition, a short summary of the exposures and health effects of biomass smoke in developing countries is provided as an additional line of evidence. In the concluding section, we return to the two key issues above to summarize (1) what is currently known about the health effects of inhaled woodsmoke at exposure levels experienced in developed countries, and (2) whether there exists sufficient reason to believe that woodsmoke particles are sufficiently different to warrant separate treatment from other regulated particles. In addition, we provide recommendations for additional woodsmoke research.

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“…17 These biogenic silica fibers are highly respirable, ranging in size from 0.25 to 2.0 micrometers (um) in diameter and from 5 to 80 um in length. 18 A report of a series of mesothelioma cases among sugarcane workers living in an agricultural region of India, 19 where there was no (reported) opportunity for asbestos exposure, led to speculation that exposure to BSF could cause mesothelioma. 20 Later an excess of mesothelioma among Swedish sugar refining workers 21,22 and an association between lung cancer and sugarcane farming in Louisiana 23 were reported.…”

Section: Biogenic Silica Fibers (Bsf)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Health hazard evaluation report: HETA-88-0119-2345, Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company, Puunene, Hawaii; Hamakua Sugar Plantation, Honakaa, Hawaii.

1993

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On December 29, 1987, the Hawaii Department of Health requested that the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) investigate chronic health effects of sugarcane smoke among sugarcane workers. Since the smoke contains "biogenic silica" fibers (BSF), chronic respiratory diseases were of particular concern. During March 1988, NIOSH investigators measured BSF in air near the Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company (HC&S) Plantation on Maui, and in August 1989 conducted further medical and environmental evaluations at the HC&S Plantation and at the Hamakua Sugar Plantation at Honakaa (Island of Hawaii). In addition, NIOSH investigators conducted a case-control study of mesothelioma and BSF exposure using records of the Hawaii Tumor Registry to identify cases and select controls, and ascertaining employment in the sugarcane industry from union records, death certificates, and a special 1942-43 Hawaii census. At the HC&S mill, equipment operators, who move sugarcane into the mill as it is received from the harvested fields, were exposed to BSF; air concentrations of inorganic fibers ranged from 1200 to 8350 fibers per cubic meter (fibers/m 3). In the fields, rake operators had the highest exposures, ranging from 1,250 to 56,280 fibers/m 3 , with a median of 3,970. Exposures of other employees ranged up to 10,250 fibers/m 3 , with a median of 4480. There are no standards or recommendations for limiting exposures to BSF. Ten air samples, from machinists, mechanics, and planting machinery operators, had detectable asbestos. The highest concentration was 0.77 fibers/cubic centimeter, in a bagasse tractor driver (two-hour sample period). Two subsequent samples from this employee during the same work shift had no detectable asbestos. NIOSH recommends that exposure to asbestos be reduced to the lowest possible concentration. The medical study included 355 sugarcane workers. Neither respiratory symptoms or chest X-ray abnormalities were associated with BSF exposure. The ratio of 1-second forced expiratory volume to forced vital capacity (FEV 1 /FVC, a measure of lung air flow obstruction) was lower among workers with ten or more years in jobs with the highest BSF exposures than among those with less time in such jobs [0.72 vs 0.77, p=0.04 (one-way analysis of variance)], but not significantly different from that among workers who never had such jobs (0.72 vs. 0.75). From 1960 to 1987, 93 cases of mesothelioma in Hawaii residents were listed in the Hawaii Tumor Registry. These were compared to 281 residents with other types of cancer category-matched for age at diagnosis, decade of diagnosis, and sex. After adjusting for exposure This Health Hazard Evaluation (HHE) report and any recommendations made herein are for the specific facility evaluated and may not be universally applicable. Any recommendations made are not to be considered as final statements of NIOSH policy or of any agency or individual involved.

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Exposure Assessment of Smoke and Biogenic Silica Fibers During Sugar Cane Harvesting in Hawaii

Cited by 12 publications

References 9 publications

Amorphous silica: A review of health effects from inhalation exposure with particular reference to cancer

Amorphous silica: A review of health effects from inhalation exposure with particular reference to cancer

Woodsmoke Health Effects: A Review

Health hazard evaluation report: HETA-88-0119-2345, Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company, Puunene, Hawaii; Hamakua Sugar Plantation, Honakaa, Hawaii.

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