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Dust entry

Clove dust

Airborne particulate generated while grinding or handling clove.

Airborne form

dust

The form describes what is suspended in air at the point of exposure. A material can produce more than one form, such as dust during handling and fume during heating.

Health effects

upper-respiratory irritationallergic sensitization concernskin-contact health effectsinhalable-dust exposure

Evidence

NIOSH identified clove among spices ground on site and reported that spice-dust exposure can cause health problems through inhalation and skin contact; the report also notes irritant and allergenic properties.

Source: pdf ↗ · saved source
page 2 · Background · 3
The store contained hundreds of types of spices, but only certain spices were ground on site. These included cinnamon, pepper, ginger, cloves, allspice, mushrooms, fermented black garlic, coriander, cumin, and mustard. Cinnamon was the most common spice that was ground on site. ... Exposure to spice dusts has been reported to cause human health problems through inhalation and skin contact. ... Because of the irritant and allergenic properties of spice dust, from a health perspective, the PEL for PNOR does not adequately protect the health of employees.

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