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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
medicine
Respirable dust and quartz exposure from three south African farms with sandy, sandy loam, and clay soils
Annals of Occupational Hygiene, Volume 55, No. 6, Year 2011
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Description
Objectives: To quantify personal time-weighted average respirable dust and quartz exposure on a sandy, a sandy loam, and a clay soil farm in the Free State and North West provinces of South Africa and to ascertain whether soil type is a determinant of exposure to respirable quartz.Methods: Three farms, located in the Free State and North West provinces of South Africa, had their soil type confirmed as sandy, sandy loam, and clay; and, from these, a total of 298 respirable dust and respirable quartz measurements were collected between July 2006-November 2009 during periods of major farming operations. Values below the limit of detection (LOD) (22 μg · m -3) were estimated using multiple 'imputation'. Non-parametric tests were used to compare quartz exposure from the three different soil types.Results: Exposure to respirable quartz occurred on all three farms with the highest individual concentration measured on the sandy soil farm (626 μg · m -3). Fifty-seven, 59, and 81% of the measurements on the sandy soil, sandy loam soil, and clay soil farm, respectively, exceeded the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) threshold limit value (TLV) of 25 μg · m -3. Twelve and 13% of respirable quartz concentrations exceeded 100 μg·m -3 on the sandy soil and sandy loam soil farms, respectively, but none exceeded this level on the clay soil farm. The proportions of measurements >100 μg · m -3 were not significantly different between the sandy and sandy loam soil farms ('prop.test'; P = 0.65), but both were significantly larger than for the clay soil farm ('prop.test'; P = 0.0001). The percentage of quartz in respirable dust was determined for all three farms using measurements > the limit of detection. Percentages ranged from 0.5 to 94.4% with no significant difference in the median quartz percentages across the three farms (Kruskal-Wallis test; P = 0.91).Conclusion: This study demonstrates that there is significant potential for over-exposure to respirable quartz in farming and even clay soil farming may pose a risk. Soil type may determine whether exposure is >100 μg · m 3, but the job type and the manner in which the task is performed (e.g. mechanical or manual) may be important determinants of exposure. Identifying quartz exposure determinants (e.g. type of job) and modifiers will be of value to focus implementation of controls of particular importance in developing countries. © The Author 2011.
Authors & Co-Authors
Swanepoel, Andrew J.
South Africa, Johannesburg
University of the Witwatersrand
Kromhout, Hans
Netherlands, Utrecht
Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences
Jinnah, Z.
South Africa, Johannesburg
University of the Witwatersrand
Portengen, Lutzen
Netherlands, Utrecht
Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences
Renton, Kevin A.
South Africa, Johannesburg
University of the Witwatersrand
Gardiner, Kerry
South Africa, Johannesburg
University of the Witwatersrand
Rees, David J.
South Africa, Johannesburg
University of the Witwatersrand
Statistics
Citations: 14
Authors: 7
Affiliations: 2
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1093/annhyg/mer025
ISSN:
00034878
e-ISSN:
14753162
Study Locations
South Africa