In this laboratory study, four drywall sanding tools were evaluated in terms of dust generation rates in the respirable and thoracic size classes. In a repeated measures study design, 16 participants performed simulated drywall finishing tasks with each of four tools: (1) ventilated sander, (2) pole sander, (3) block sander, and (4) wet sponge. Dependent variables of interest were thoracic and ...

An analysis was conducted on a cohort of Chinese pottery workers to estimate the exposure-response relationship between respirable crystalline silica dust exposure and the incidence of radiographically diagnosed silicosis, and to estimate the long-term risk of developing silicosis until the age of 65. The cohort comprised 3,250 employees with a median follow-up duration of around 37 years. Inci...

Prior research has suggeste d that the source of respirable silica dust in underground coal mines is typically the immediate top or bottom lithology adjacent to the mined seam, not mineral matter bound within the mined coal bed. Geochemical analyses were applied in an effort to identify the specific source rock of respirable quartz dust in coal mines. The analyses also demonstrate the compositi...

This study compared respirable dust and nanoparticle concentrations measured by different sampling devices at a titanium dioxide pigment factory. Respirable particle mass concentrations, nanoparticle concentrations, particle size distribution and particle metallic content were measured at different sampling locations. The sampling results of the Multi-orifice Uniform Deposit Impactor (MOUDI) sh...

In general, control of metal dust from hand-held disk grinders is difficult because such respirable dust tends to disperse in every direction around the grinding wheel and cannot be captured effectively by a conventional exhaust hood. The author described the application of a custom-made tool-mounted local exhaust ventilation (LEV) system attached to a hand-held disk grinder, and by laboratory ...

The concentrations in the air of total and of respirable (less than 7 microns equivalent diameter) dust were measured in 142 workrooms of 17 Northern Ireland flax spinning mills using a hexhlet air sampler. Neither the distribution of total nor of respirable dust concentrations (mg./100 m.3 air) measured in each of four large workrooms conformed to the normal (or Gaussian) distribution, but it ...

OBJECTIVES To review the published literature on respirable quartz exposure and associated disease in agricultural related settings systematically and to describe personal respirable dust and quartz measurements collected on a sandy soil farm in the Free State province of South Africa. METHODS The published studies on exposure to respirable silica and quartz in agriculture and related setting...

OBJECTIVES Determine whether surface dust grab samples taken from a large military base in Iraq are toxic and respirable. METHODS X-ray diffraction for mineral content, x-ray fluorescence for elemental content, in vivo mouse dust challenges for assessment of histological changes, bronchoalveolar lavage for cytokines, polarizing light microscopy for crystals in lung tissue, and Fluorescence Ac...