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. 2007 Nov 1:7:311.
doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-7-311.

Exposure of bakery and pastry apprentices to airborne flour dust using PM2.5 and PM10 personal samplers

Estelle Mounier-Geyssant  1 , Jean-François Barthélemy, Lory Mouchot, Christophe Paris, Denis Zmirou-Navier
Affiliations

Exposure of bakery and pastry apprentices to airborne flour dust using PM2.5 and PM10 personal samplers

Estelle Mounier-Geyssant et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: This study describes exposure levels of bakery and pastry apprentices to flour dust, a known risk factor of occupational asthma.

Methods: Questionnaires on work activity were completed by 286 students. Among them, 34 performed a series of two personal exposure measurements using a PM2.5 and PM10 personal sampler during a complete work shift, one during a cold ("winter") period, and the other during a hot ("summer") period.

Results: Bakery apprentices experience greater average PM2.5 and PM10 exposures than pastry apprentices (p < 0.006). Exposure values for both particulate fractions are greater in winter (average PM10 values among bakers = 1.10 mg.m-3 [standard deviation: 0.83]) than in summer (0.63 mg.m-3 [0.36]). While complying with current European occupational limit values, these exposures exceed the ACGIH recommendations set to prevent sensitization to flour dust (0.5 mg.m-3). Over half the facilities had no ventilation system.

Conclusion: Young bakery apprentices incur substantial exposure to known airways allergens, a situation that might elicit early induction of airways inflammation.

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