PEAK EXPOSURE CONCENTRATIONS OF DUST AND FLOUR AEROALLERGEN IN FLOUR MILLS AND BAKERIES

As part of an epidemiological study amongst workers exposed to flour w e measured peak exposure levels to total dust and flour aeroallergen w ith personal samplers in bakeries, flour mills and packing stations. S hort-term tasks which were expected to give rise to high concentration s of exposure (peaks) were identified. The frequency and duration of t hese tasks were estimated and their levels of exposure to dust and flo ur aeroallergen measured. In total 209 samples were taken. The highest exposure concentrations both for dust (geometric mean >30 mg m(-3)) a nd for flour aeroallergen (geometric mean > 500 mu g m(-3)) were measu red during certain operations. Exposure concentrations for the tasks w ere often much higher than the levels we had measured over a shift in a previous study. This might be important for sensitization and for th e development of asthma. Peak exposure concentrations could be used to explore the exposure-response relationship more comprehensively. In g eneral average flour aeroallergen concentrations increased linearly wi th average dust concentrations, although there were some exceptions.