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A bioaerosol is a suspension of airborne dust that contains living organisms or was released from living organisms such as fungi, bacteria, actinomycetes, pollen and other plant material. Exposure to bioaerosols containing high concentrations of fungi, actinomycetes, or endotoxin from bacteria may cause various deleterious health effects mainly on the airways (Douwes et al. 2003). The respiratory disorders caused by bioaerosol components can be dependent on the exposure levels (Rylander et al. 1985; Eduard et al. 2001). For example, a 60 spore m-3 increment in concentration of the fungus Epicoccum has been found to be associated with increased incidence of morning cough (Neas et al. 1996). At biofuel plants, large quantities of biofuel are handled and exposure to bioaerosol components and other particles occurs (Madsen 2006) which may cause respiratory disorders. An epidemiological study shows that the exposure level to microorganisms has an impact on the occurrence of respiratory symptoms among biofuel workers (Schlunssen et al. 2010). Inflammation in relation to respiratory disorders has been evaluated in mice exposed to airborne dust collected in two working areas at a biofuel plant. The study indicates that dust from a biofuel plant, at doses corresponding to two weeks of observed human endotoxin exposure, results in a strong inflammatory response. The airborne dust from the straw storage hall at the biofuel plant induced a stronger inflammatory response than dust from the boiler room and had the highest concentration of most microbial components (Madsen et al. 2008). In contrast, airborne dust collected from a boiler room at a straw plant were more toxic in terms of mutagenicity, PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) concentration and ability to generate reactive oxygen species than dust generated from straw and wood chips and than airborne dust sampled in a straw storage hall (Cohn et al. 2010). Also particles from combustion of dried animal drugs are described to be highly oxidative (Mudway et al. 2005). Occupational exposure to bioaerosol components and the inflammatory potential of these bioaerosols are different in different working areas at the plants (Madsen 2006; Timm et al. 2009). Furthermore the microbial dustiness of different biofuels (straw, wood chips, wood pellets and wood briquettes) differs (Madsen et al. 2004) and also depends on the storage method and period (Sebastian et al. 2006). Some people at biofuel plants work for a whole day in the straw storage and this can cause a high exposure. The straw shredding area has

Identification of Work Tasks Causing High Occupational Exposure to Bioaerosols at Biofuel Plants Converting Straw or Wood Chips