Quantification of personal exposure and aerial concentrations of particles and bioaerosols in a poultry building

Animal buildings are notorious for excessive airborne pollutant concentrations, particularly particulate matter (PM) and bioaerosols or particles that contain endotoxin, bacteria, and fungi. In poultry buildings, endotoxin concentrations could be 150 times as much as those found in homes. High amounts of airborne pollutants, especially respirable dust, endotoxins, and other bioaerosols in animal buildings are of vital concern since they could potentially affect the external environment, production efficiency, and health and welfare of humans and animals. This study measured the concentrations of respirable particles and bioaerosols in a poultry building located at the SFA Poultry Research Center. Two types of measurements were conducted and compared: aerial and personal exposures. In aerial concentration measurements, samples were collected at six stationary locations indoors. To monitor the personal exposure, respirable dust samplers were worn by workers during their working periods. Respirable dust was collected on Teflon filters mounted on respirable cyclones. The bioaerosol components of dust were quantified by loading the filters onto nutrient agar plates and incubating them for 3 to 5 days at about 30°C. After incubation, the colonies of microorganism were manually counted. Based on the results obtained, personal-exposure to respirable dust and bioaerosols concentrations were significantly higher than the concentrations indoors (p<0.05). This could be explained by the fact that whenever the workers entered the buildings, the reaction of the birds disturbed the litter which produced more airborne dust that could have been collected onto the sampler worn by the workers. The indoor respirable dust concentrations did not vary significantly throughout the two flocks, while the indoor bioaerosol concentrations varied significantly among the sampling events.