Determination of the size of airborne flour particles.
Air sampling was done in a UK bakery and a flour mill with an eight-stage cascade impactor to determine the size of airborne flour particles. The concentration of captured material was determined by a competitive inhibition radioimmunoassay. Comparison of the different sites revealed that 8.79% and 52.14% of the particles in the bakery dough-brake and roll-production areas had a diameter < or = 6.0 microns, respectively, and 19.7% of the particles in the flour mill packing area were of this size. We conclude that in dusty areas up to 20% of the airborne flour particles are of a diameter likely to allow them to be deposited in the bronchial airways and alveoli.
Sandiford
C P
CP
Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Royal Brompton National Heart and Lung Hospital, London, UK.
Nieuwenhuijsen
M J
MJ
Tee
R D
RD
Taylor
A J
AJ
D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D001939:Bread; D003296:Cooking; D004391:Dust; D005433:Flour; D005511:Food Handling; D006801:Humans; D010316:Particle Size; D010940:Plant Proteins
D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D004391:Dust; D010940:Plant Proteins