Exposure to Flour Dust and Hazardous Chemicals in Bakeries
Date Issued
2016
Date
2016
Author(s)
Chang, Pei-Ting
Abstract
In correspondence with a transition trend of Taiwanese’ eating habits, bakeries become a fast growing industry. High prevalent Baker’s Asthma, the most frequently reported occupational asthma since the 20th century, as well as eye/nose symptoms, make occupational health a critical issue in the bakeries. Currently, the studies about workers’ health, working environment, dust and airborne concentrations of the associated chemicals in the bakeries of Taiwan are limited. Hence, to improve occupational health, the objectives of this research were to: (1) perform a comprehensive collection of information regarding bakery; (2) perform a comprehensive literature survey on occupational safety and health regarding bakery and related workplace; (3) identify hazardous airborne materials and perform air sampling and analysis in the bakery; and (4) perform walk-through surveys at the bakeries and administrate questionnaires for the workers. In this study, the walk-through surveys have been carried out for 15 different bakeries. Field air samplings were performed at 5 out of the 15 bakeries. The average concentration of inhalable dust was found to be 0.27 mg/m3, with a range of 0.01-0.83 mg/m3. Among the samples, 23% of them were higher than the ACGIH TLV-TWA (0.5 mg/m3), in terms of the concentration of inhalable dust. The findings indicate that inhalable dust is an important air pollutant for workers in the bakeriess. In addition, diacetyl, acetoin, 2,3-pentanedione, 2,3-hexanedione, 2,3-heptanedione, furfural, and acetaldehyde were also found in the bakeries with various levels. In one of the samples, it was observed that the concentration of acetaldehyde was 37-83 times higher than the general indoor environment. On the other hand, the concentration of total VOCs in the working area can be 21 times higher than other non-working areas. The results suggest that the hazardous airborne substances might be accumulated in the bakeries. To lower the levels of exposures, bakeries should improve the ventilation and air exchange rate. It is also important to implement work rules, in terms of occupational safety and health, for the baking industry, and to monitor the exposures of inhalable dust and total VOCs.
Subjects
bakeries
air sampling
inhalable flour dust
acetaldehyde
food flavoring
SDGs
Type
thesis
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