Wood-dust exposure during wood-working processes.

Personal and ambient full shift concentrations of inhalable wood dust were measured at different wood-working processes in two joineries and a furniture factory in The Netherlands. The current occupational exposure limit for wood dust is still 5 mg m-3 total dust, but the Dutch Expert Committee for Occupational Standards has recently recommended a health-based limit of 0.2 mg m-3 (total wood dust). The main purpose of the present study was to characterize current wood-dust exposures during different wood-working activities in order to determine whether compliance with the proposed limit was feasible. The wood-dust exposures in the joineries were usually much lower than 5 mg m-3, but in the furniture factory the present limit was regularly exceeded. Sanding, especially hand sanding, nearly always resulted in exposures above 5 mg m-3. Almost all personal exposures were higher than the proposed health-based limit of 0.2 mg m-3 and therefore can be considered to generate a health risk to the workers. The measurements performed may help in setting priorities and will serve as a basis for the development of a control strategy to reduce the average exposure.

[1]  Paul Swuste,et al.  A systematic implementation of control measures for airborne contaminants in workplace air , 1992 .

[2]  R J Waxweiler,et al.  Industrial hygiene characterization of automotive wood model shops. , 1985, American Industrial Hygiene Association journal.

[3]  Susan R. Woskie,et al.  Calibration of a Continuous-Reading Aerosol Monitor (Miniram) to Measure Borate Dust Exposures , 1993 .

[4]  J T Purdham,et al.  The evaluation of exposure of printing trade employees to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. , 1993, The Annals of occupational hygiene.

[5]  L. C. Smith,et al.  Personal exposures to wood dust of woodworkers in the furniture industry in the High Wycombe area: a statistical comparison of 1983 and 1976/77 survey results. , 1986, The Annals of occupational hygiene.

[6]  G Rosén,et al.  Concurrent video filming and measuring for visualization of exposure. , 1987, American Industrial Hygiene Association journal.

[7]  J H Vincent,et al.  A new personal sampler for airborne total dust in workplaces. , 1986, The Annals of occupational hygiene.

[8]  L Muriale,et al.  Wood dust exposure during furniture manufacture--results from an Australian survey and considerations for threshold limit value development. , 1991, American Industrial Hygiene Association journal.

[9]  P Swuste,et al.  Empirical modelling of chemical exposure in the rubber-manufacturing industry. , 1994, The Annals of occupational hygiene.

[10]  W A Heitbrink,et al.  Application of industrial hygiene air sampling data to the evaluation of controls for air contaminants. , 1984, American Industrial Hygiene Association journal.

[11]  J R Nethercott,et al.  Wood dust and formaldehyde exposures in the cabinet-making industry. , 1986, American Industrial Hygiene Association journal.

[12]  E. Symanski,et al.  A comprehensive evaluation of within- and between-worker components of occupational exposure to chemical agents. , 1993, The Annals of occupational hygiene.

[13]  A Hamill,et al.  Levels of exposure to wood dust. , 1991, The Annals of occupational hygiene.

[14]  R F Hounam,et al.  Levels of airborne dust in furniture making factories in the High Wycombe area , 1974, British journal of industrial medicine.