Introduction: Exposure to total inhalable dust has become a public concern because constant exposure to the dust
concentration exceeding workplace exposure limit may cause decline in lung function. This study aims to compare
the total inhalable dust exposure among rice mill, sawmill, furniture factory and non-exposed workers as well as
to correlate the dust exposure with lung function. Methods: A total of 77 exposed and 39 non-exposed workers
were recruited into this study utilising purposive sampling method. The total inhalable dust concentration was
collected using Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) personal airborne sampler loaded with glass microfibre
filter connected to a sampling pump via tygon tubing which was attached to the workers. Post-shift lung function
test was also measured. Results: There was a significant difference in the dust concentration between rice mill,
sawmill, furniture factory and non-exposed workers (p = 0.001) with the highest median value of 2.4 x 103
µg/m3
(IQR: 1.1 x 103
– 5.8 x 103
) among sawmill workers. Significant difference (p = 0.001) was shown between
workers for measured forced expiratory value in one second (FEV1), measured forced expiratory value in one second
and forced vital capacity ratio (FEV1/FVC) and predicted FEV1/FVC. Among the exposed workers, weak negative
significant correlations were portrayed between total inhalable dust with the predicted forced vital capacity (FVC)
(r = -0.282, p = 0.013) and predicted FEV1 (r = -0.241, p = 0.035). Conclusion: Dust concentration might be attributable to the lung function decline among exposed workers especially sawmill workers.