Author: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Date Published: 1994
CDC alert that discusses the risks of agricultural workers for developing respiratory illness from exposure to inhaled dusts. This alert warns agricultural workers who inhale contaminated organic dust that they can develop serious respiratory illness. One of the most common illnesses is organic dust toxic syndrome (ODTS), a respiratory and systemic illness that can follow exposures to heavy concentrations of organic dusts contaminated with microorganisms. An estimated 30%-40% of workers exposed to such organic dusts will develop ODTS. The alert describes four incidents in which 29 agricultural workers developed ODTS. Also described are the various medical conditions that ODTS includes and the health effects associated with the syndrome. The alert provides recommendations for minimizing the risk for exposure to organic dusts and for the use of respirators.