Abstract
Agricultural work is a major contributor to California's and the nation's economy and employs a large number of workers. However, agricultural work can have numerous risks, such as exposure to elevated levels of particulate matter (PM) and other airborne pollutants with potential adverse health effects. To determine the magnitude of occupational exposures, PM levels were assessed for 89 workers from three major crops in California; almonds, melons and tomatoes. Personal samples were collected for PM2.5 and inhalable PM using personal sampling equipment. Geometric mean concentrations from personal exposure for workers in almonds (inhalable PM=4368μg/m3, PM2.5=122μg/m3, N=5), tomatoes (inhalable PM=1410μg/m3, PM2.5=12μg/m3, N=33), and melons (inhalable PM=1118μg/m3, PM2.5=19μg/m3, N=51) showed high PM exposure when working with these three crops. Large exposure differences by crop were more common than by task (i.e. harvesting, packing and weeding) among the three crops studied. This is the largest study of agricultural workers engaged in hand harvesting, a significant employer of farm labor, and relatively high levels of exposure to PM were measured.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 226-230 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health |
| Volume | 217 |
| Issue number | 2-3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 2014 |
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Keywords
- Agriculture
- Inhalable PM
- Migrant workers
- Occupational exposure
- PM
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Cite this
Occupational exposure to particulate matter from three agricultural crops in California. / Moran, Rebecca E.; Bennett, Deborah H; Garcia, John; Schenker, Marc B.
In: International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, Vol. 217, No. 2-3, 03.2014, p. 226-230.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Occupational exposure to particulate matter from three agricultural crops in California
AU - Moran, Rebecca E.
AU - Bennett, Deborah H
AU - Garcia, John
AU - Schenker, Marc B
PY - 2014/3
Y1 - 2014/3
N2 - Agricultural work is a major contributor to California's and the nation's economy and employs a large number of workers. However, agricultural work can have numerous risks, such as exposure to elevated levels of particulate matter (PM) and other airborne pollutants with potential adverse health effects. To determine the magnitude of occupational exposures, PM levels were assessed for 89 workers from three major crops in California; almonds, melons and tomatoes. Personal samples were collected for PM2.5 and inhalable PM using personal sampling equipment. Geometric mean concentrations from personal exposure for workers in almonds (inhalable PM=4368μg/m3, PM2.5=122μg/m3, N=5), tomatoes (inhalable PM=1410μg/m3, PM2.5=12μg/m3, N=33), and melons (inhalable PM=1118μg/m3, PM2.5=19μg/m3, N=51) showed high PM exposure when working with these three crops. Large exposure differences by crop were more common than by task (i.e. harvesting, packing and weeding) among the three crops studied. This is the largest study of agricultural workers engaged in hand harvesting, a significant employer of farm labor, and relatively high levels of exposure to PM were measured.
AB - Agricultural work is a major contributor to California's and the nation's economy and employs a large number of workers. However, agricultural work can have numerous risks, such as exposure to elevated levels of particulate matter (PM) and other airborne pollutants with potential adverse health effects. To determine the magnitude of occupational exposures, PM levels were assessed for 89 workers from three major crops in California; almonds, melons and tomatoes. Personal samples were collected for PM2.5 and inhalable PM using personal sampling equipment. Geometric mean concentrations from personal exposure for workers in almonds (inhalable PM=4368μg/m3, PM2.5=122μg/m3, N=5), tomatoes (inhalable PM=1410μg/m3, PM2.5=12μg/m3, N=33), and melons (inhalable PM=1118μg/m3, PM2.5=19μg/m3, N=51) showed high PM exposure when working with these three crops. Large exposure differences by crop were more common than by task (i.e. harvesting, packing and weeding) among the three crops studied. This is the largest study of agricultural workers engaged in hand harvesting, a significant employer of farm labor, and relatively high levels of exposure to PM were measured.
KW - Agriculture
KW - Inhalable PM
KW - Migrant workers
KW - Occupational exposure
KW - PM
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84892677874&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84892677874&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ijheh.2013.05.002
DO - 10.1016/j.ijheh.2013.05.002
M3 - Article
VL - 217
SP - 226
EP - 230
JO - International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health
JF - International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health
SN - 1438-4639
IS - 2-3
ER -