BACKGROUND Exposure to airborne wheat allergen is a well-known cause of bakers' allergy and asthma. Airborne wheat allergen can be measured by enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) in extracts of inhalable dust samples, but only limited knowledge is available on the size distribution of wheat allergen-carrying particles. Recently, a new sampling medium, porous polyurethane foam, has been introduced for th...

The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the Indiana Department of transportation. This report does not constitute a standard, specification or regulation. A section of road was constructed in Northeastern Indiana in the s...

Air concentrations of respirable crystalline silica were measured in eleven (11) high school ceramics classrooms located in Salt Lake County, UT, USA. Respirable dust was collected on PVC filters using precision flow pumps and cyclone samplers (n = 44). Filters were subsequently analyzed for respirable dust and percent crystalline silica content. The geometric mean of the silica concentrations ...

OBJECTIVES Little information is available on the quantitative risks of respiratory disease from quartz in airborne dust in the heavy clay industry. Available evidence suggested that these risks might be low, possibly because of the presence in the dust of other minerals, such as illite and kaolinite, which may reduce the harmful effects of quartz. The aims of the present cross sectional study ...

The present research was conducted in a stone quarry of marble located in northeast of Iran. Time weighted average of total dust, respirable dust, and crystalline silica (alpha-quartz) concentration in workers' breathing zone were monitored by using both gravimetric and XRD methods. The results showed that the employees working in hammer drill process had the highest exposure to the total and r...

BACKGROUND The use of formative research as a critical component of intervention planning is highly supported in the literature. However, studies that report such processes in practice are minimal. This paper reports on the formative data collection and analysis that informed the development of a multilevel intervention that utilizes mine assessment technology to bridge health communication bet...

Over the past decade, a substantial effort has been made to improve the air quality inside enclosed cabs of both underground and surface mobile mining equipment to reduce respirable dust exposures by the equipment operators. As part of this effort, the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, (NIOSH) completed a comprehensive laboratory study that determined the significant f...

OBJECTIVES To determine whether the respiratory symptoms and decrements in lung function found in manufacturers of ceramic fibres are related to exposure to the respirable fibre or inspirable mass constituents of the air in the working environment. METHODS Cross sectional survey of all current European primary producers of ceramic fibre was carried out, with measurement of exposure to respira...

The United States National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, through an informal partnership with industry, labor, and the United States Mine Safety and Health Administration, has developed and tested a new instrument known as the Personal Dust Monitor (PDM). The new dust monitor is an integral part of the cap lamp that coal miners normally carry to work and provides continuous info...