Wood dust

A revised NIOSH HHE found that woodshop workers were mostly exposed to pine wood dust; eight-hour exposure was below the NIOSH REL, but wood-dust levels reached the NIOSH limit during the six hours when woodworking equipment was in use.

Wood dust is listed by NIOSH among high-molecular-weight workplace agents associated with work-related asthma.

NIOSH reports that workers exposed to wood dust can experience eye and skin irritation, allergy, reduced lung function, asthma, and nasal cancer.

NIOSH engineering-control studies found substantial reductions in wood-dust emissions using auxiliary ventilation, jet-stripper systems, local-exhaust hoods, and improved shaper hood configurations.

The NIOSH Pocket Guide lists wood-dust exposure routes as inhalation and skin or eye contact, and lists eye irritation, nosebleed, dermatitis, respiratory hypersensitivity, asthma, cough, wheezing, sinusitis, prolonged colds, and potential occupational carcinogenicity among its symptoms and hazards.

The NIOSH review describes nasal and respiratory effects from wood dust, including irritation, coughing, wheezing, sinusitis, impaired mucociliary clearance, and pulmonary-function changes in exposed workers.

HSE's RR1211 reports that exposure to wood dust of any type can cause asthma and dermatitis, while hardwood dust can also cause sinonasal cancer; the report surveyed wood-dust exposures in manufacturing and reviewed control improvements.

The preserved HSE RR1211 report is also available as the original PDF artifact used for the evidence package.

HSE states that woodworking with hardwood, softwood, or wood composite boards creates wood-dust exposure; hardwood dust can cause nasal cancer, wood dust is a common cause of occupational asthma, and machining controls should include extraction and suitable cleanup methods.

mono100C.pdf

Design by Au-delà des mots 100 C arsenic, metals, fibres, and dusts Volume 100 of the IARC Monographs, A Review of Human Carcinogens, covers all agents previously classified by IARC as “carcinogenic to humans (Group 1)” and was developed by six separate Working Groups: Pharmaceuticals; Biological agents; Arsenic, Metals, Fibres, arsenic, metals, fibres, and Dusts; Radiation; Personal Habits and Indoor Combustions; Chemical Agents and Related Occupations. This Volume 100C covers Arsenic, Metals,

mono-100C-TABLES/100C-10-Table2.10.pdf

Table 2.10. Case–control studies of wood dust and cancer of the upper respiratory and digestive tract other than the nose Reference, study Organ site Characteristics of cases Characteristics of Exposure Exposure categories Relative risk Adjustment for Comments location and (ICD controls assessment (95% CI)* potential period code) confounders Brown et al. Larynx 303 (220 living, 83 271 living, 113 Interview- Ever/never 8.1 (1.0–68.8) Smoking and Furniture making (1988) (161) dead) men, from 56 de

mono-100C-TABLES/100C-10-Table2.11.pdf

Table 2.11. Case–control studies of wood dust and other respiratory cancers Reference, Organ site Characteristics of Characteristics of Exposure Exposure Relative risk Adjustment for Comments study location (ICD cases controls assessment categories (95% CI)* potential and period code) confounders Milne et al. Lung All 925 males All 6 420 males dying Occupation on Employment in Sex, age Occupation on (1983) (162) decedents; retrieval from other cancers, death certificate furniture/cabinet death c

mono-100C-TABLES/100C-10-Table2.12.pdf

Table 2.12. Case–control studies of wood dust and cancer of the digestive tract and other cancers Reference, Organ site (ICD Characteristics of Characteristics of Exposure Exposure categories Relative risk Adjustment for Comments study location code) cases controls assessment (95% CI)* potential and period confounders González et Stomach (152) 354 (235 men, 119 354 hospital controls, Interview- Ever/never 1.8 (0.5–6.9) sex, age, and area of al. (1991) women) from 15 individually matched administ

mono-100C-TABLES/100C-10-Table2.13.pdf

Table 2.13. Case–control studies of wood dust and hemopoietic malignancies Reference, study Organ site Characteristics of cases Characteristics of Exposure Exposure categories Relative risk Adjustment for Comments location and (ICD code) controls assessment (95% CI)* potential period confounders Tollerud et al. Multiple 301 men deceased cases, 858 population controls Occupation Occupation in the 1.29 (P = 0.25) (1985) myeloma from mortality records; matched by sex, age at reported on the furnitu

mono-100C-TABLES/100C-10-Table2.14.pdf

Table 2.14. Case–control studies of wood dust and other malignancies Reference, Organ site Characteristics of cases Characteristics of Exposure Exposure categories Relative risk Adjustment for Comments study location (ICD controls assessment (95% CI)* potential confounders and period code) Serraino et al. Soft tissue 93 (53 men, 40 721 patients (371 men, Interview- Employment in Sex. Age (1992) sarcomas women) patients 350 women), excluding administered furniture/upholstery Friuli Venezia attend