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Determination of the size of airborne flour particles
Author(s) -
Sandiford C. P.,
Nieuwenhuijsen M. J.,
Tee R. D.,
Newman Taylor A. J.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
allergy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.363
H-Index - 173
eISSN - 1398-9995
pISSN - 0105-4538
DOI - 10.1111/j.1398-9995.1994.tb00795.x
Subject(s) - cascade impactor , particle size , environmental science , food science , wheat flour , particle (ecology) , chemistry , biology , ecology
Air sampling was done in a UK bakery and a flour mill with an eight‐stage cascade impactor to determine the size of airborne flour particles. The concentration of captured material was determined by a competitive inhibition radioimmunoassay. Comparison of the different sites revealed that 8.79% and 52.14% of the particles in the bakery dough‐brake and roll‐production areas had a diameter 6.0 μm, respectively, and 19.7% of the particles in the flour mill packing area were of this size. We conclude that in dusty areas up to 20% of the airborne flour particles are of a diameter likely to allow them to be deposited in the bronchial airways and alveoli.