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Dust entry

Paper mail-sorting dust

Inhalable paper dust generated by machine mail sorting and blowing dust from sorting machinery.

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

dry throateye irritationnasal irritationsinus headacheasthma concernbronchitis concernpneumonia concern

Evidence

In a NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation of a mail-processing center, employees identified paper-dust inhalation concerns including dry throat, eyes and nose, sinus headaches, asthma, bronchitis, and pneumonia. NIOSH measured inhalable dust and particle-size distributions during machine sorting and machine blowout; the report notes that the applicable inhalable-particulate exposure limit was not exceeded in that evaluation.

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Abstract · 1
The primary process/task associated with paper dust exposures is machine mail sorting and the cleaning of machines by blowing paper dust from the machines ... employees listed concerns regarding inhalation exposures ... dry throat/eyes/nose, migraines, sinus headaches, asthma, bronchitis, and pneumonia.

A NIOSH newspaper-production HHE measured paper dust and found significantly higher chronic-bronchitis symptom rates among press-room workers than reel-room workers; it also reported reduced pulmonary-function performance with age and years of press work and dermatitis/eye irritation associated with oil mist and paper dust. The report did not establish an independent paper-dust effect.

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page 1 · Summary · 3
A respiratory symptom questionnaire and pulmonary function tests were administered to 187 workers. Press room workers were found to have a significantly higher rate of chronic bronchitis symptoms than reel room workers after adjusting for smoking history and age. Pulmonary function performance declined with age and years of press work, but these variables were so closely correlated that an independent effect for years of exposure could not be evaluated. Dermatitis and eye irritation due to oil mist and paper dust exposure were reported by 40% of the workers.

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