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Dust entry

Fishmeal-processing dust

Airborne particulate and allergen exposure generated during saltwater fish processing and fishmeal production.

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

work-related ocular-nasal symptomsasthma symptomsoccupational asthmafish allergic rhino-conjunctivitisairway obstructionairway hyper-responsivenessfish sensitization

Evidence

A NIOSH-indexed cross-sectional study of 594 workers in pilchard-canning and fishmeal-processing plants found work-related ocular-nasal symptoms in 26% and asthma symptoms in 16%; 1.8% had probable occupational asthma and 2.6% had fish allergic rhino-conjunctivitis. The study also reported fish sensitization, nonspecific bronchial hyper-responsiveness, and airway obstruction, with atopy and smoking among important determinants.

Source: html ↗ · saved source
Abstract · 1
Work-related ocular-nasal symptoms (26%) were more common than asthma symptoms (16%). ... The prevalence of probable occupational asthma was 1.8% and fish allergic rhino-conjunctivitis 2.6%. ... atopy and cigarette smoking are important determinants of occupational allergy and asthma.

Controls