Tags

Type your tag names separated by a space and hit enter

Exposure of farmers to dust on private farms of various production profiles.
Ann Agric Environ Med. 2001; 8(2):151-61.AA

Abstract

In the light of studies of dustiness in agriculture conducted in Poland and abroad, which deal exclusively with dust risk while performing selected occupations, the results presented in this article are a subsequent attempt to recognize annual exposure to dust at workplaces in agriculture. This recognition concerns the workplace of private farmers--typical of Polish agriculture--on family farms of various profiles of production. The study covered 10 selected farms: four animal breeding farms, four specialised cultivation farms, and two traditional mixed-production farms comprising animal breeding and plant cultivation. The results of the study showed an unequal distribution of the working time load and exposure to dust among the farmers examined during the whole year. The monthly working time limit ranged from 53.6-208.8% of the legal working time. The values of the mean weighted monthly concentrations of total dust ranged within 1.2-33.9 mg x m(-3), and those of respirable dust - 0.3-4.0 mg x m(-3), the highest values being observed in August and September. Mean weighted monthly concentrations describing an average level of farmers' exposure to total dust (7.7-21.9 mg x m(-3)), together with the confidence intervals, remain above the occupational exposure limit (4.0 mg x m(-3)), which is equivalent to hazardous conditions. In the case of respirable dust the results obtained show allowable conditions. Despite this, the dusty working conditions of the farmers in the study should be regarded as hazardous, due to the high level of exposure to total dust observed and potentially high contents of pathogenic components. The highest level of exposure was noted on farms engaged in potato production and marketing, followed by traditional farms carrying out mixed production, while the lowest level of exposure was observed on farms engaged in dairy cattle breeding.

Authors+Show Affiliations

Mołocznik A
Department of Physical Occupational Hazards, Institute of Agricultural Medicine, Jaczewskiego 2, P.O. Box 185, 20-950 Lublin, Poland.
Zagórski J
No affiliation info available

MeSH

Agricultural Workers' DiseasesAgricultureAir Pollutants, OccupationalAnimal HusbandryDustHumansInhalation ExposurePolandRisk AssessmentSeasons

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

11748872

Citation

Mołocznik, A, and J Zagórski. "Exposure of Farmers to Dust On Private Farms of Various Production Profiles." Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine : AAEM, vol. 8, no. 2, 2001, pp. 151-61.
Mołocznik A, Zagórski J. Exposure of farmers to dust on private farms of various production profiles. Ann Agric Environ Med. 2001;8(2):151-61.
Mołocznik, A., & Zagórski, J. (2001). Exposure of farmers to dust on private farms of various production profiles. Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine : AAEM, 8(2), 151-61.
Mołocznik A, Zagórski J. Exposure of Farmers to Dust On Private Farms of Various Production Profiles. Ann Agric Environ Med. 2001;8(2):151-61. PubMed PMID: 11748872.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Exposure of farmers to dust on private farms of various production profiles. AU - Mołocznik,A, AU - Zagórski,J, PY - 2001/12/26/pubmed PY - 2002/5/3/medline PY - 2001/12/26/entrez SP - 151 EP - 61 JF - Annals of agricultural and environmental medicine : AAEM JO - Ann Agric Environ Med VL - 8 IS - 2 N2 - In the light of studies of dustiness in agriculture conducted in Poland and abroad, which deal exclusively with dust risk while performing selected occupations, the results presented in this article are a subsequent attempt to recognize annual exposure to dust at workplaces in agriculture. This recognition concerns the workplace of private farmers--typical of Polish agriculture--on family farms of various profiles of production. The study covered 10 selected farms: four animal breeding farms, four specialised cultivation farms, and two traditional mixed-production farms comprising animal breeding and plant cultivation. The results of the study showed an unequal distribution of the working time load and exposure to dust among the farmers examined during the whole year. The monthly working time limit ranged from 53.6-208.8% of the legal working time. The values of the mean weighted monthly concentrations of total dust ranged within 1.2-33.9 mg x m(-3), and those of respirable dust - 0.3-4.0 mg x m(-3), the highest values being observed in August and September. Mean weighted monthly concentrations describing an average level of farmers' exposure to total dust (7.7-21.9 mg x m(-3)), together with the confidence intervals, remain above the occupational exposure limit (4.0 mg x m(-3)), which is equivalent to hazardous conditions. In the case of respirable dust the results obtained show allowable conditions. Despite this, the dusty working conditions of the farmers in the study should be regarded as hazardous, due to the high level of exposure to total dust observed and potentially high contents of pathogenic components. The highest level of exposure was noted on farms engaged in potato production and marketing, followed by traditional farms carrying out mixed production, while the lowest level of exposure was observed on farms engaged in dairy cattle breeding. SN - 1232-1966 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/11748872/Exposure_of_farmers_to_dust_on_private_farms_of_various_production_profiles_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -