The Exposure of Scottish Wood Bark Chip Handlers to Microbially Contaminated Airborne Dust

Crook, B.; Botheroyd, E.M.; Glass, S.A. Travers; Gould, J.R.M.

doi:10.1093/annhyg/38.inhaled_particles_vii.903

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Furthermore, many of the fungi, actinomycetes and other bacteria present on wood chips, can be potentially pathogenic or toxigenic [8]. For example, exposure to the fungus Aspergillus fumigatus can lead to health complications for biomass handlers such as development of Aspergillosis or other Occupational Hypersensitivity Diseases (OHD) which often affect the lungs [8,22]. Even though processing in facilities may provide sufficient heat treatments that can kill and weaken the risks from most non-sporing pathogens, storage of organic matter may still allow microbes to grow at mesophilic temperatures (~20-45 • C) and cases have existed where feedstock contained bacteria with the ability to produce heat-resistant spores (e.g., Clostridium botulinum) [13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Health and Safety Incident Trends Related to the Storage of Woody Biomass: A Need for Improved Monitoring Strategies

Krigstin

Wetzel

Jayabala

et al. 2018

Forests

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Self-heating fires, dust explosions and off-gassing during biomass storage are serious hazards which can have devastating consequences, resulting in worker fatalities and health impacts, as well as bioenergy plant destruction and complete loss of production. A compilation of incident reports involving biomass storage from 2000–2018 has revealed that these potential hazards continue to be a major concern in the bioenergy sector. Higher occurrence rates were found for incidents categorized as self-heating fires and fires of uncertain causes in recent years through our study of online reports. This paper highlights a critical need for improved safety protocols for bioenergy plant workers, detailed incident documentation and enhanced biomass monitoring strategies to drastically reduce the occurrence of threats associated with the storage of woody biomass. In order to manage the high risks associated with self-heating, a system for real-time monitoring of internal pile temperature was investigated. A monitoring system supplied by Braingrid Corporation was verified using embedded Tinytag thermologgers indicating that this methodology shows potential for preventing spontaneous combustion events by providing real time temperature data for superior pile management.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Health and Safety Incident Trends Related to the Storage of Woody Biomass: A Need for Improved Monitoring Strategies

Krigstin

Wetzel

Jayabala

et al. 2018

Forests

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Field testing of a personal size-selective bioaerosol sampler

Kenny

Bowry

Crook

et al. 1999

The Annals of Occupational Hygiene

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Existing samplers for the collection of bioaerosols have been designed with the aim of maintaining biological stability of the collected material, and in general do not select particles in accordance with international conventions for aerosol sampling. Many have uncharacterised sampling efficiencies and few are designed as personal samplers. If standard personal dust samplers are used for bioaerosols the viability of collected microorganisms may be compromised by dehydration. The objective of this study was to evaluate a novel personal bioaerosol sampler designed to collect the inhalable dust fraction and further subdivide the sample into thoracic and respirable fractions. The new sampler was tested to see whether it enhanced the survival of the collected microorganisms, and was assessed for ease of use in the field and in subsequent laboratory analyses. A number of occupation-related field sites were selected where large concentrations of bioaerosols were to be expected. The prototype sampler was found to be simple to use. Analysis could be carried out with similar efficiency either with all three fractions together for a total count, or separately for size selective data. The sampler performed at least as well as the standard IOM filter method but with the added advantage of size fractionation. The field trials showed that for sampling periods lasting several hours, microorganism survival within the sampler was adequate for culture and identification of the organisms present. This new sampler is now commercially available. In addition to bioaerosol sampling, the principle of size selective sampling using porous foams can be applied to other occupational hygiene problems, and also to indoor air monitoring of PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations.

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The Exposure of Scottish Wood Bark Chip Handlers to Microbially Contaminated Airborne Dust

Cited by 2 publications

References 0 publications

Recent Health and Safety Incident Trends Related to the Storage of Woody Biomass: A Need for Improved Monitoring Strategies

Recent Health and Safety Incident Trends Related to the Storage of Woody Biomass: A Need for Improved Monitoring Strategies

Field testing of a personal size-selective bioaerosol sampler

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