Introduction: The health effects of inhaling rice dust contaminated with endotoxin include respiratory problems, asthma, chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.Thus, this comparative cross-sectional study aims to associate the concentration of endotoxin levels in inhalable rice dust and the lung function decline among rice millers.
Materials and Methods: The endotoxin level in inhalable dust for both area and personal samplings were collected using 25 mm Glass Fiber (A) filter loaded in IOM samplers connected to a pump by tygon tubing. The pump was operated at 2.0 litres/min and clipped around the breathing zone of the rice millers for eight hours. The endotoxin concentrations were analysed using Limulus Amoebocyte Lysate Chromogenic Endpoint assay at 405 nm. Lung function tests were carried out using Spirometer (Pony FX), for both the rice millers and the non-exposed groups.
Results: Findings for the mean concentration of endotoxin for areas was 0.26(standard deviation (SD) = 0.12) EU/m3 whereas the mean personal inhalable endotoxin level among the rice millers was 0.29(SD = 0.15) EU/m3. Post-shift lung function tests for FEV1/FVC measured appeared lower among rice millers (54%) compared to non-exposed workers (62%), but not statistically significant (p = 0.313). However, there were significant correlations between endotoxin concentration and post-shift LFT parameters of measured FVC, FEV1 and PEFR (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: Despite the low level of endotoxin exposure, proper protective measures should be applied for rice millers for long term protection.
Introduction: Optimal humidity, temperature, improper handling and storage of rice will increase the likeliness of aflatoxin growth in the air. The most common and carcinogenic aflatoxin is Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) that may cause lung cancer if inhaled. This study aims to associate the exposure of AFB1 in inhalable dust and its respiratory effects among rice millers.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study utilised the purposive sampling method and recruited 76 rice millers as exposed subjects and 48 office workers as the control group. The total inhalable dust was collected using the filter-loaded air samplers for an eight working hours’ exposure. The subjects’ hands were swabbed with cotton pads wetted with 0.5 ml Phosphate buffered Saline Tween-20 solution post shift. The collected samples were analysed for AFB1 by using the ELISA kits. The questionnaire gathering information on sociodemographic, work data and respiratory symptoms were completed. The lung function test was performed for the pre- and post-shifts.
Results: The mean airborne AFB1 at the rice mill area and personal exposure were 2.22 ng/m3 ± 0.07 and 0.25 ng/m3 ± 0.24, respectively. The mean contamination level of AFB1 on hands was 0.25 ng/ml detected on two rice millers (2.3%) while non-detectable in non-exposed workers. The most complained symptoms among rice millers were wheezing and breathlessness (n = 6, 9.2%). There was a significant difference in the mean forced expiration volume (FEV1) for pre- and post-shifts between rice millers and the non-exposed workers, but no significant correlation between the mean AFB1 concentration and lung function. Age and work factors were confounders in lung function.
Conclusion: Despite no association being established in this study, the promotion of wearing suitable personal protective equipment (PPE) is highly recommended to prevent cumulative exposure among the rice millers.
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.