OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE TO WOOD DUST DURING AGRICULTURAL OPEN AIR OPERATIONS

The occupational exposure to wood dust is largely investigated during operations carried out indoor, mainly related to the sawing of fresh and stored wood. However, exposure can occur also during a number of different agricultural practices generally carried out in open air (trees felling, pruning, chipping, etc.). This topic results less investigated, but preliminary tests carried out during pruning, clear-cutting and wood chipping of different tree species showed large variability in the extent of potential exposure to inhalable dust wood. Moreover, in those preliminary tests daily exposure values were frequently found to be greater than 1.50 mg/m3, a value higher than the limit fixed by EU Scientific Committee for Occupational Exposure Limits (SCOEL). Consequently, we decided to investigate deeply the production of wood dust during those operations, with the aim of assessing operators’ exposure. The dust will be collected with active filter sampling, using IOM sampler. We’ll carry out trials during both vineyard and citrus mechanical pruning and other trials will concern wood chipping operations, including trees felling, size reduction and storage. Among the factors we are going to take in account: the ground speed velocity (during vineyard pre-pruning and citrus pruning), the rotary blames rotation speed, the amount and characteristics of pruned and chipped wood, the wind strength and direction, the environmental conditions. Results are expected to confirm exposure previously found and how to mitigate or eliminate the risk of wood dust inhalation during agricultural open air operations.