Personal Exposures to Inorganic and Organic Dust in Manual Harvest of California Citrus and Table Grapes

Lee, Ki-Young; Lawson, Robert; Olenchock, Stephen A.; Vallyathan, Val; Southard, Randall C.; Thorne, Peter S.; Saiki, Cathy; Schenker, Marc B.

doi:10.1080/15459620490471616

Cited by 37 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 15 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…During citrus harvesting in Tulare County (see Fig. 1), Lee et al (2004) reported average endotoxin and total bacteria and fungi levels of 293.2 endotoxin units (EU)/m 3 and 1.9 × 10 8 organisms/m 3 , respectively, based on the total suspended particles (TSP) dislodged from polycarbonatemembrane filters. They also measured 13,787 and 13,274 colony forming units (CFU)/m 3 for culturable bacteria and fungi, respectively, using Andersen two-stage bioaerosol samplers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of Ambient PM10 Bioaerosols in a California Agricultural Town

Chow

Yang

Wang

et al. 2015

Aerosol Air Qual. Res.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ambient bioaerosols in PM 10 samples were measured at three sites in Corcoran, an agricultural town in the southern San Joaquin Valley (SJV) of California, during fall of 2000 corresponding to the cotton harvest season. Elevated bioaerosol concentrations were measured near grain elevators (GRA site) and a cotton handling facility (BAI site) as compared to levels in a residential community (COP site), ~2 km northeast of these sources. Average endotoxin levels (13 ± 17 EU/m 3 ) at the grain elevator site were three to eight times higher than averages at the nearby cotton-handling and residential sites. The highest level (47.6 EU/m 3 ) at the grain elevator site was about half of the exposure limit of 90 EU/m 3 set by the Dutch Expert Committee on Occupational Safety. Particle counts of fungal spore (66,333 particles/m 3 ) and pollen grain (2,600 particles/m 3 ) concentrations were more than double those reported in the literature. Average fungal biomarker concentrations of 170 and 131 ng/m 3 for arabitol and mannitol, respectively, were 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than those from nonagricultural areas. The low correlation (r < 0.11) of three fungal markers (i.e., (1→3)-β-D-glucan, arabitol, and mannitol) with fungi counts is consistent with findings by others and indicates that these are insufficient as surrogates to represent fungal exposure. Agricultural activities contributed measureable amounts to PM 10 mass and organic carbon (OC), dominated by fungal spores (i.e., 5.4-5.8% PM 10 mass and 11.5-14.7% OC). The sum of fungal spores, pollen grains, and plant detritus accounted for an average of 11-15% PM 10 and 24-33% OC mass. Bioaerosols can be important contributors to PM 10 mass in farming communities similar to Corcoran, especially during intense agricultural activities.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of Ambient PM10 Bioaerosols in a California Agricultural Town

Chow

Yang

Wang

et al. 2015

Aerosol Air Qual. Res.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…5) In previous studies of dust exposure in vineyards, exposure levels were measured during only a few operations, typically during harvest, and were extrapolated as representative exposures. 5,6) Grape workers demonstrated a reduced vital capacity consistent with restrictive pulmonary function from mixed-dust exposure in this population.…”

Section: )mentioning

confidence: 73%

“…[5][6][7] However, these estimations were based on only a few measurements or indirect evidence of health effects. Agricultural workers perform many operations and the exposure among operations can vary significantly.…”

Section: )mentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of Task-weighted Agricultural Dust Exposure of Vineyard Workers

Lee¹

2010

Korean Journal of Environmental Health Sciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Agricultural workers are often exposed to high levels of dust during field operations. A systematic exposure assessment of annual task-weighted exposure has not been thoroughly examined. The occupational dust exposure in two wine grape vineyards was measured. Exposure levels to total and respirable dust were determined for a 1-year cycle of work. An operation profile including the frequency of tasks was established. The means of total and respirable dust exposure were 1.08 mg/m 3 and 0.07 mg/m 3 , respectively. Based on the exposure for each task and the task frequency, task-weighted mean exposures to total and respirable dust were estimated as 1.115 mg/m 3 and 0.079 mg/m 3 , respectively. The task-weighted exposure was significantly represented by three operations and could be attributed to the exposure frequency rather than the exposure intensity of operations. The measurement of a few of the most frequent tasks may be an alternative method of estimating task-weighted exposure. Agricultural dust exposure can be significantly reduced by targeting those tasks most important to task-weighted dust exposure.

show abstract

“…The researchers found that the workers were exposed to a complex mixture of organic and inorganic particles during manual harvest of citrus and table grapes (Lee et al, 2004). Geometric means for inhalable dust and respirable dust were 39.7 mg m -3 and 1.14 mg m -3 , respectively during citrus harvest, which were significantly higher compared to the levels that were determined for table grape operations and exceeded the TLVs for inhalable dust and respirable quartz.…”

Section: Orchards and Vegetable Growingmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…During mechanical harvest of almonds, dust levels in the dust plume were 26513 mg m -3 and 154 mg m -3 , respectively for inhalable dust and respirable dust (Lee et al, 2004). Mechanical harvesting of tree crops caused average personal exposure of 52.7 mg m -3 of inhalable dust and 4.5 mg m -3 of respirable dust.…”

Section: Orchards and Vegetable Growingmentioning

confidence: 99%