D6-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 24,1993
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Penn State
Poultry
Pointers
RESPIRATORY
PROTECTION FOR
POULTRY WORKERS
Dennis J. Murphy
Professor Of
Agricultural And
Biological Engineering
A wide variety of hazards can be
found lurking on most poultry
farms. Many of these hazards are
common to other farm operations
as well. For instance, tractor and
machinery hazards, noise, and
electrical and fire hazards are fair
ly typical.
Another broadly based hazard,
found particularly in many poultry
houses, is hazardous respirable
dust. Respirable dusts are the
microscopic-sized organic dust
particles that come from poultry
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feathers, feed, and manure.
The most typical symptoms
include a scratchy throat, a con
stant cough, sputum or phlegm,
and a running nose. Poultry dust
can affect any exposed person
within a short period of time, and
in extreme cases have forced farm
workers to stay out of poultry
buildings and to seek other work.
Response to poultry dust varies
from person to person, may affect
any part of the respiratory tract,
and may include inflammatory,
toxic, or allergic processes. Ignor
ing the symptoms caused by inhal
ing poultry dust can lead to long
term respiratory problems and dis
eases such as acute or chronic
bronchitis, occupational asthma, a
systemic influenza like reaction, or
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Good management practices
can help to minimize dust genera
tion in poultry houses, but it isn’t
practical to reduce all respirable
dust. To reduce the harmful effects
of respirable dust, approved respir
atory protection should be worn.
The type of respirator appropriate
for use in poultry houses is referred.
to as an air-purifying respirator.
The person breathes through a fil
tering medium that traps respirable
dust. Because the wearer must pull
air through the filter, all air
purifying respirators put added
stress on the lungs. For this reason,
if you suffer or suspect that you
suffer from respiratory problems
such as asthma, lung, or cardiovas
cular disease, check with a doctor
to make sure you are able to wear
one.
There are three primary types of
air-purifying respirators appropri
ate for use in poultry houses. The
least expensive models are com
monly called dust/mist respirators.
This is the least effective model for
filtering respirable dust because
the respirator does not seal tightly
against the wearer's face, and con
siderable amounts of dust may leak
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into the respirator and be breathed
in. They arc usually identifiable by
their two thin elastic bands and arc
priced from SI to $3.
The second type of air-purifying
respirator is the cartridge respira
tor. This respirator normally com
es in different sizes, has a rubber
face piece, adjustable elastic
straps, and can be purchased with
dust/mists cartridges only or in
combination with chemical vapor
cartridges. When purchased in
combination, the dust/mists pro
tection usually comes as a prefilter
or the chemical cartridge filter.
Both half-mask and full-face mod
els are available. Prices range
widely, from about $25 for a dis
posable half-mask to $l5O for
reusable full-face piece models.
The cartridge respirator, if fitted
properly, can provide substantial
protection for most wearers.
The third type of air-purifying
respirator is named the powered
air-purifying respirator (PAPR).
This type respirator utilizes a
motorized blower that forces air
through the filtering medium. It
makes breathing easier for the
wearer, so this type device might
be recommended by a doctor for
reports to suit their needs. A vet
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including breeding information,
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Dairy Plan allows for detailed
cow data such as bam numbers,
test dry milk totals, lactation totals
and projections, feed rations and
more. Graphs are included for
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someone with a minor respiratory
or cardiovascular ailment. They
tend to be cooler, too, because of a
constant stream of air over the
wearer’s face. The blower is usual
ly powered by a rechargeable bat
tery pack strapped onto the wear
er’s waist. Some PAPRs are cap
able of filtering out nearly all
harmful respirable particles, and
may be the only type of respirator
that provides satisfactory protec
tion. This situation may occur
when early symptoms of respirat
ory distress are ignored. PAPRs
range in price from about $2OO to
$BOO.
Whichever specific type of air
purifying respirator is appropriate
for your individual situation, be
sure that the respirator is a NIOSH
or MSHA-approved respirator. All
approved respirators are marked
with a “TC” number and the ini
tials “NIOSH” or “MSHA” some
where on the respirator. The com
mon nuisance dust mask, marked
by a single elastic strap, and often
sold by the boxfull, is not an
approved respirator and will not
have a “TC” number. This type of
dust mask is not effective at filter
ing respirable dust.
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