Organic dust toxic syndrome at a grass seed plant caused by exposure to high concentrations of bioaerosols.

The Annals of Occupational Hygiene
Anne M MadsenIvar Heltberg

Abstract

We describe an outbreak of sudden health problems in workers at a Danish grass seed plant after exposure to a particularly dusty lot of grass seeds. The seeds are called problematic seeds. The association between development of organic dust toxic syndrome (ODTS) and the handling of grass seeds causing exposure was assessed in a four-step model: (i) identification of exposure source, (ii) characterization of the emission of bioaerosols from the problematic and reference seeds, (iii) personal and stationary exposure measurement at the plant and (iv) repeated health examinations. The grass seeds were identified as the exposure source; the emissions of some bioaerosol components were up to 10(7) times higher from the problematic seeds than from reference seeds. Cleaning of the seeds was not enough to sufficiently reduce the high emission from the problematic seeds. Emission in terms of dust was 3.4 times as high from the problematic cleaned seeds as from cleaned reference seeds. The personal exposure reached 3 × 10(5) endotoxin units m(-3), 1 × 10(6) colony-forming units (cfu) of thermophilic actinomycetes m(-3), 8 × 10(5) cfu of Aspergillus fumigatus m(-3) and 9 × 10(6) hyphal fragments m(-3). Several workers working with the prob...Continue Reading

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Citations

Feb 13, 2016·Environmental Monitoring and Assessment·Stefan MayerJan Grajewski
Mar 7, 2015·The Annals of Occupational Hygiene·Anne StraumforsWijnand Eduard
Jun 7, 2014·Environmental Research·Lolita VilavertJosé L Domingo
Oct 12, 2013·The Science of the Total Environment·Anne Mette MadsenMargit W Frederiksen
May 6, 2016·Environmental Research·Randi Jacobsen BertelsenCecilie Svanes
Aug 11, 2016·Occupational and Environmental Medicine·V van KampenJ Bünger
Sep 28, 2018·Current Allergy and Asthma Reports·Brett J Green
Mar 2, 2019·Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association·Hamza MbarecheCaroline Duchaine

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