Open AccessExposure to Respirable Flour Dust and Gliadin in Wheat Flour Mills
Author(s) -
Khodadadi Iraj,
Abdi Mohammad,
Aliabadi Mohsen,
Mirmoeini Effat Sadat
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of occupational health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.664
H-Index - 59
ISSN - 1348-9585
DOI - 10.1539/joh.11-0045-oa
Subject(s) - gliadin , food science , husk , chemistry , zoology , gluten , biology , botany
Exposure to Respirable Flour Dust and Gliadin in Wheat Flour Mills: Iraj Khodadadi, et al. Department of Biochemistry and Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Iran—Objectives The aim of this study was to determine the concentrations of respirable lour dusts and gliadin as well as gliadin specific serum antibodies in exposed workers of Hamadan wheat lour mill factories. Methods Blood samples from 95 exposed workers and 80 air samples from lour packing, husk packing, lour production and wheat unloading areas were collected. Respirable lour dust density was measured by a gravimetric method, and dust gliadin concentration as well as serum antibodies were determined by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays. Results The Time‐weighted average (TWA) lour dust density was higher in all factories (1.56–4.68 mg/m 3 ) compared with the thresholdlimit value (0.5 mg/m 3 ) of ACGIH and showed a positive correlation with the gliadin concentration (p<0.05). Additionally, the respirable dust and gliadin concentrations were significantly higher at lour packing workstations compare with the other work areas. Moreover, the mean serum gliadin‐specific IgA and IgG and total IgE antibodies were remarkably higher in exposed millworkers compared with the controls (p <0.05). Conclusion We clearly demonstrated that workers in Hamadan lour mills are in exposed to a hazardous level of respirable lour dust, receiving the highest level of dust and gliadin in lour packing areas. Furthermore, dust‐exposed workers showed upper levels of serum antibodies indicating exposure to higher amounts of allergens than controls.