A synopsis of agricultural respiratory hazards

This report summarizes the current state of both knowledge and programs concerning a wide range of respiratory hazards facing agricultural producers including cotton dust, grain dust, agricultural chemicals, organic and inorganic dusts, and microbiologic and immunologic agents. Comparisons and criticisms are made among the hazards on the basis of their epidemiology, their occurrence within the agricultural setting, and current approaches, interest, and support for evaluating and controlling the hazard. This report was prepared as both an overview of the technical issues and as a focal point of organizational concern for what appears to be a very broad and largely underrecognized spectrum of occupational health hazards affecting large segments of the agricultural industry. The difficulties confronting research and human health in these areas are at once technical, sociological, and organizational in nature, and remain a challenge to the industry, to government, and to the health profession.