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Dust entry

Paper and tissue dust

Airborne particulate generated during paper and tissue making or processing.

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

respiratory-system effectsrespiratory illnessairway irritation

Evidence

HSE states that regular exposure to high levels of paper and tissue dust can affect the respiratory system and cause illness, with inhalable and respirable trigger values under COSHH.

Source: UK HSE: Paper and tissue dust ↗

HSE states that regular exposure to high levels of paper and tissue dust can affect the respiratory system and cause illness, and provides inhalable and respirable dust trigger values under COSHH.

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Paper and tissue dust · 1
Regular exposure to high levels of paper and tissue dust can affect the respiratory system and cause illness.

HSE defines inhalable dust as dust entering the nose and mouth during breathing and respirable dust as particles small enough to reach the lungs; it reports that dust accumulated in the lungs can cause inflammation, fibrosis, and breathing impairment, while some dusts can cause occupational asthma and rhinitis.

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page 3 · What are the effects on health? · 10–14
Dust that can enter the nose and mouth during breathing is referred to as ‘total inhalable dust’. ... ‘respirable dusts’; these dusts can build up in the air spaces in the lungs and can lead to lung damage. ... The build up of any dust in the lungs could produce lung damage with inflammation and eventually fibrosis (scar tissue). ... Certain dusts ... are respiratory sensitiser(s) which can cause occupational asthma ... rhinitis ... and extrinsic allergic alveolitis.

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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