Exposure to air contaminants in chicken catching

A cross-sectional study of chicken catchers was carried out by personal sampling of air contaminants. The catchers used either the drawer method (DM) or truck method (TM) for loading chickens into cages. DM catchers were exposed to higher concentrations of hazardous substances than TM catchers, except for ammonia. In terms of geometric means total dust concentrations were 11.3 mg/m3 (DM catchers) and 8.1 mg/m3 (TM catchers). Full-shift dust exposure exceeded the Danish occupational exposure limit (OEL) of 3 mg/m3 for organic dust by at least a factor of 2. From paired personal sampling data the concentration of respirable dust ranged from 18% to 28% of the total dust concentration. The average exposure level to bacterial endotoxin in total dust at 82 ng/m3 for DM catchers and 42 ng/m3 for TM catchers exceeded a limit of 10 ng/m3 recommended for poultry processing industry workers in the United States. Endotoxin content of airborne dust averaged 6.5 +/- 4.9 ng/mg. Exposure to microorganisms was determined by microscopy (total count) and by culturing (viable count). The geometric means for total count (microorganisms/m3) were 7.0 x 10(8) (DM catchers) and 4.9 x 10(8) (TM catchers) and for viable count 3.2 x 10(7) cfu/m3 (DM catchers) and 1.4 x 10(7) cfu/m3 (TM catchers). The ratio of microorganisms counted by microscopy to levels of viable microorganisms ranged from 5 to 200, implying a strong underestimation of exposure levels from viable counts alone. It was concluded that Danish chicken catchers were exposed beyond recommended limits for the air contaminants evaluated.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)