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Review
. 2019 Feb 28;17(1):1559325819827464.
doi: 10.1177/1559325819827464. eCollection 2019 Jan-Mar.

A Review of Wood Dust Longitudinal Health Studies: Implications for an Occupational Limit Value

Stewart E Holm  1 , John L Festa  2
Affiliations
Review

A Review of Wood Dust Longitudinal Health Studies: Implications for an Occupational Limit Value

Stewart E Holm et al. Dose Response. .

Abstract

Numerous studies reporting on the health effects of wood dust have been published over many decades. For the clear majority of these studies, their use for setting a science-based occupational exposure level is problematic due generally to insufficient exposure measurement data, inadequate participant follow-up, and lack of control for confounding variables. However, there exists a robust data set from a large longitudinal lung function study that provides a scientifically sound basis for establishing an occupational limit of 5 mg/m3 inhalable wood dust. The choice of this data set and its application for this purpose are presented in this review.

Keywords: FEV; cross-sectional; limit; longitudinal; lung function.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. AF&PA members are regulated for wood dust exposure. S. Holm is affiliated with the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) while J. Festa is a consultant who received financial support for this analysis from AF&PA.

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